Hogbacks

A hogback is a homoclinal ridge composed of steeply tilted strata of rock protruding from the surrounding area. The name comes from the ridge resembling the ridge between the shoulders of a hog.

I rediscovered God on a hogback in the northwest suburbs of Denver, Colorado in 2002. Work assignments had brought me to the mile-high city and a need for the release of exercise had driven me out trail running before sunup before the start of my busy day. I don't know why I ended up on the top of a hill with a 360 degree view all around. I could see for miles and miles (and miles and miles and miles). Oh Yeah!

To the North, I could see the lights of Boulder
Due East, I looked down on the City of Denver
To the South, more hills and eventually Colorado Springs
And to the West, more hogbacks and the snow-covered peaks of the Rockies beyond

For what it's worth, and for anyone else who might want to visit this place, my location was at or about at the following coordinates:
39°42'22.57"N
105°10'41.56"W

I stood there on top of this hill for a while, amazed that I had hauled my butt up this enormous hill (I've since mapped it as a 900+ foot vertical elevation change) in the dim predawn light, huffing and puffing because I was unaccustomed to the thin air at over 6,800 feet. Then I sat for a while on a small rock. I watched the cars go by like little toys. I saw a house fire in the valley below as smoke changed colors, fire trucks responded, and the flames were extinguished. I watched people leave their homes and go to work. I looked over at the next ridge a half mile away and watched deer, skunks, and other animals going about their day. Airplanes crossed the sky making their approach into DIA to the northeast.

And it was at that moment that an overwhelming sense of God's presence came over me. I physically felt warmth and love in an inexplicable physical sensation.

I told God how awesome and great and amazing he is. I praised his name.

I asked forgiveness for all my sins, for the sins of commission and of omission, of disobedience, of sloth. I went through the commandments one at a time and asked forgiveness for each instance I thought I had violated one by my actions or my inaction.

I thanked him for the beauty of all his creation, for a loving family, for a challenging and meaningful job that took me to places like this and allowed me to be here at that exact moment. I thanked him for all I had in the world. I thanked him for the wind, the sunrise, the sky, the stars, the birds, and everything I could see.

I asked him for strength and guidance and wisdom. I asked that he continue to shine his lamp on the narrow path and the small gate that one must humbly kneel to pass through that I might better see it. I sought his intercession in the lives of others who were apart from him. I asked that he bring peace to those whose lives I was bringing disruption upon and asked that he guide my actions for that day. I asked for patience to withstand the trials and tribulations of some very difficult people and very tough circumstances (we were in the middle of a corporate merger at the time).

Yes, I followed the old A-C-T-S prayer rubric and I prayed for 30 minutes. I prayed the Our Father, and the Hail Mary, and any other formal prayer I could recall. I think I even said grace (as in "Bless us, O Lord, for these, thy gifts . . .) once!

It was the culmination of many years of searching in darkness. I had been going through the motions of attending church, getting involved in Bible Study, being active in the congregation, and reading my Bible daily. I had opened my heart to the Lord's grace and he tracked me down right where I stood. I had found my way home to the Lord. And I had found him on the top of a hogback in Lakewood, Colorado.

I returned to that hilltop every day that I could during my 20-30 trips to Denver. Even on the day that I finally toured the Coors brewery at 10AM, I found the time to run up the hill in the evening to spend time with the Lord.

to be continued . . .