Lifting the Virgin's Veil

As soon as my jeans touch the sun-warmed leather of my motorbike seat, my heart rate usually slows. The world doesn’t turn quite as fast, and everything seems to be put together just right. I own a cruiser- the bike for those who just want to get on the road and go. No need for outrageous speeding tickets or clouds of rubber smoke; just give me some asphalt and the rumble of a v-twin. Motor biking is my portal to peace and well-being.

Usually.

There was one trip a couple years ago when my restless spirit would not be silenced. Discontent hitched a ride as I rode away from town toward the Rocky Mountains. As prairie gave way to foothills, and foothills became peaks, my hope was that the majesty of the Rockies would overwhelm the incessant voices in my head. I needed some clarity. What I wanted was to hear God’s voice again.

I eventually left the highway, rode through the town of Canmore and wound my way up a mountain road to a small lake. Here, I thought, I could find some solitude. At least a hundred other people had the exact same idea that day, so it was in a spirit of frustration with my thoughts arrayed like radio static that I penned the words of The Wild.

Is there an untamed place
Where mortals have no roads?
I’d like to find it if it’s there
Behind our concrete codes.

Will I have to walk some desert?
Or cross a mountain stream?
Can it be found in some dark hole?
A nightmare, or a dream?

Your kingdom unmapped remains;
Your heart opened, unchained.
If I spent a moment there
I would not live half dead again.

So please take away my blinders
Whether stained glass or sin-black.
I want to see you once more clearly,
I want the wild back.

Sometimes the noise of our lives makes it difficult to think clearly. We’ve weaved the threads of our bad choices and circumstances into a blindfold that can hide the joy of a thousand radiant mornings. Our ears have been plugged so long with the gunk of religion that we no longer recognize the music of life’s Composer.

There was a time when I suspected that something Beautiful was passing me by, and I’d have reached out and grabbed it if only I hadn’t been so weary and beaten and blind. Then it came around again. I’ve sensed its Presence in the crashing waves of Oregon coast, and in the silent sandstone deserts of the Middle East. I caught a glimpse of it when I read of Jesus touching the untouchable people and covering up the naked adulterer.

Maybe it’s coming around for you. I know you have something to do and somewhere to go, but why don’t you take just a moment? Stop and listen?

It may very well be that despite all we’ve seen and heard, heaven is free and Life can begin sooner than we think. Is it difficult to believe? May today be the day when our frustrated longings begin to lift like the veil of a virgin bride.