“California? Tell me why you still live in California,” wrote a friend during the last natural disaster. “Especially now?”
An understandable question given we’d been evacuated (again) for a week (shorter the second time) from a wildfire.
I could count the ways, but they work out to these:
- Nearly all my relatives live here.
- I’m a California native.
- I’m even the second of three generations of University of California graduates.
- This is where God has us for right now.
There are other reasons, of course, but I’d forgotten the sheer beauty of my state until a recent trip took us from our home in “NorCal” to “SoCal.”
Blue and Gold means California
Sure, I grew up knowing the “blue and gold,” meant UCLA (and also Berkeley, but dark blue), but I never thought about why until recently.
A photo like this one gave it away:
Ever since (finally) noticing the beauty of the blue sky against golden hills, I marvel whenever I see it.
But it’s not just hillsides like above.
California, of course, has many earthquakes, which cause fascinating ripples in the land. (When you’re not worrying about feeling them start to shake).
We have plenty of other magnificent natural features in California
The ocean, the mountains, the awesome carvings.
I once flew over Yosemite Valley on my way to San Francisco.
The almost hidden green valley, stunning mountains, and narrow roads were part of my camping childhood.
These stunners are within four hours of my home.
Bodies of Water
Two Chinese teenagers stayed with us one summer. Their young teacher stayed nearby while other students were sprinkled throughout our community.
They lived in the Chinese interior and had never seen the ocean before they flew across it to San Francisco.
We took the boys and their teacher to the beach.
The teenagers yawned, the teacher sat upright and polite.
When we pointed toward a sand dune separating us from the ocean, they obediently trudged west.
Then we heard the gasp.
Enormous rolling waves crashed onto the beach sending spray high into the air.
The teacher’s eyes went wide. When she finally could speak, she spoke in a whisper: “There are not enough words to describe beautiful.”
We stopped at Armstrong Grove on the way home. None of the three could get over how high those redwoods rose into the sky!
Manmade features, too!
There’s something about coming across extraordinary features that also can capture your eye in California.
Many of these structures were not designed to necessarily spark beauty across the landscape.
But they manage to do so anyway.
We always laugh when we cross the Golden Gate Bridge. So many tourists come from around the globe to admire it.
For us, it’s just a shortcut to the airport . . .
It’s home
I’ve lived in seven states–in all four corners of the country plus Hawai’i–but I’ve spent most of my life in California.
I could tell you her faults (many) and complain (for good reason) about her.
But every place has its challenges.
The only perfect place is heaven.
And I’m going there relatively soon.
For the time being, we’re still in California, doing what He has called us to do in this place.
Will it change?
Maybe.
But, until then, I’ll appreciate what my eyes tell me about beauty–why God bestowed on California.
Enjoy my photos!
Tweetables
Why do people still live in California? Click to Tweet
A native shows the beauty of California in recent photos. Click to Tweet
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