Narrows Canyon Prayer

Zion National Park’s Narrows Canyon Prayer  by Kendra Lachniet

8 a.m.:  Dear Lord, Please watch over us on this hike.  Thank you for the lovely
weather, perfect for a 16 mile hike down the Virgin River.  Please keep us safe.
Amen. 

9 a.m.:  Dear Lord, Thank you for the sandy stretches of this river.  We’re just
beginning to see the beautiful red, brown, and orange walls of this majestic canyon.
The sun shining on the tops reflect your glory.  Thank you for this opportunity to
witness the wonders of Your creation.  Amen.

10 a.m.  Dear Lord, The sheer cliffs surround us now.  We feel the awe-inspiring
immensity of nature.  We thank You for the occasional deep spots providing
refreshing coolness as the day grows warmer.  Amen.

11 a.m.  Dear Lord, We continue to marvel at the beauty of this land.  Thank you for making our way smooth despite the now stony bottom of the river.  We are enjoying the solitude of our walk as we rarely see any other hikers.  Thank you for this gorgeous day.  Amen.

12 p.m.  Dear Lord,  We are feeling refreshed after a little lunch break.  The
cascades of water streaming down both sides of the canyon amaze us.  The walking is getting tougher as the water gets deeper, but we are still enjoying the spectacular scenery.  Thank You again for this marvelous adventure.  Amen.

1 p.m.  Dear Lord, Thank You for providing the opportunity to meet a new friend,
whose brother has decided to go ahead without him, and thank You for giving us the wisdom to bring more than enough water so we’d have some to share with him.  We are glad for his company.  It was getting lonely out here.  And he makes us feel better about our physical unfitness for this trip after those little Boy Scouts passed us at a good clip.  And Lord, please provide relief from the pain from hitting that branch with my head.  I’m sorry for what I said when it happened.  Amen.

2 p.m.  Dear Lord,  Thank You for straight lines and flat plains and dry paths.
Thank You for wide open spaces.  It is not until we lack those things that we
appreciate them.  Amen.

3 p.m.  Dear Lord,  The waterfalls look gorgeous.  We hope that the added water will eventually allow us to swim parts of the trail.  We're getting very tired now.  I'm
sorry I've wished bad things on the people who listed "walking sticks" under
recommendations instead of requirements.  I don't really want You to bury them in a pile of falling debris from these cliffs.  Lord, give us strength.  Amen. 

4 p.m.  Lord, I now understand how we humans sometimes take the beauties of nature for granted when we see too much of them.  The cliffs are all starting to look
alike.  Every bend in the river offers the possibility of the end of the hike, but
we’re repeatedly disappointed.  Even if we’re only traveling two miles per hour, we
should be close to the end; right, Lord?  Of course, maybe they measured the river’s actual route, while we’ve had to crisscross continually.  Lord, please let my math be faulty (as it usually is) and let this hike end soon.  Amen.

5 p.m.  Lord, please forgive my stupidity.  We shouldn’t have tried to avoid walking
in the river even though the rocks were getting slippery and really hard to walk on
without falling.  My knees really hurt, and the water is getting deep, and pushing
harder as we cross each time.  So, as You probably observed, we scaled a rock ledge.  Since there was no way we were going to backtrack, we decided to jump into the water.  It was deep.  Now we’re really wet, and it’s getting a little cold.  Please protect us from ourselves!  Amen.

6 p.m.  Dear Lord, Kill me now!  Please, send a flash flood to wash my dead body out of this canyon!  Just when I got my hopes up, meeting hikers coming from the
trail-head in the park, they informed us that they’d been walking for several hours.
They were chipper and enthusiastic, and smiling.  If it took them that long to get
this far, how long will it take Tam and I,  in our current physical condition, to
make the same distance?  I don’t think we can make it!  And if we stop and spend the night, I don’t think we’ll be able to move in the morning.  So, Lord, I’m sorry if I
seem ungrateful, but I’d like this hike to be over.  And I promise, if I survive, I
will use my brain in the future to avoid such circumstances.  Amen.

7 p.m.  Dear Lord, It’s now too dark to enjoy the scenery even if I could see
anything through my tears.  You have taught me  a lesson.  I am powerless, and You are all powerful.  Please let the next bend in the river be the last.  Amen.

8 p.m.  Thank you, God!  We’ve at last come to the end of our trail!  Unfortunately,
the last shuttle back to the campground has left.  I think I’ll just sit here on dry
land and contemplate spending the night sacked out right here.  Oh, but our friend’s brother has arrived in a jeep!  Thank you for sending this angel, Lord!  Amen.