America the Beautiful

 by Jeff Olson, student

I treasure those times when I can set aside the drama and the practical worries of life, and allow myself to be open to the peace and beauty of God. I had one such time on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

To better understand what I am about to tell you, know that some years ago, Verizon had television commercials with an everyday, keeky Verizon cell phone customer and maybe 20 or so people crowded behind him. The crowd apparently represented Verizon employees who supported customers. When the keeky guy side stepped left, all 20 people took a step left, suggesting no matter where you went, Verizon people would always be there to support you. When the keeky guy stepped right, the same thing… all 20 stepped right too, still ready to support you.

So… that Saturday afternoon… I remember I was feeling pretty good about life, feeling no pressure or urgency to do anything – my mind was at peace and I walked into the bedroom. The sun was streaming in the window and even making part of the bedspread warm to the touch. I lazily laid down, day dreaming and enjoying some of the good things that had happened to me that week.

I must have drifted off to sleep. I had a dream, or something like a dream, but it was extremely vivid, almost real. I dreamed that I was the keeky Verizon guy, with a crowd behind me that became a chorus. They were all singing America the Beautiful. And I knew that the chorus behind me knew me, was there for me, and supported me. The power, the grace, the harmony of the music filled me with awe immediately.

They sang “Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountain majesties above the fruited plane…” and I felt myself flying over the American landscape feeling the beauty deeply. It was as if I could zoom in and see individual wheat stalks as well as zoom out and see the entire panorama of farms below, and it was glorious.

“America. America. God shed his grace on thee..” -- and my heart started to expand with love and a knowing of forgiveness. It was warm. I felt safe. I felt loved. I felt like I had become love itself.

“And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining see.” At this, my heart expanded in the deepest love I had ever felt, getting bigger and bigger, taking in the joy and the pain and hurts of everyone in my neighborhood, covering it all with love… and kept expanding to encompass the whole city, then the whole country, and then the entire planet.

I woke with tears running down my face. I felt their wetness on my pillow. I was so moved, so awed by the depth of my feeling. I lay still for a long time, not wanting the experience to go away.

Part of me knows that this can happen again. All that is needed is to set aside my worries for a while, enjoy and appreciate the wonderful moments of life, and be open to trusting that God cares for me. Yeah, to the extent I can, I’m going to do this again now.