Through Painted Deserts: Light, God, and Beauty On The Open RoadBy: Donald Miller
Thomas Nelson (August 14, 2005)
256 pages
Join Donald Miller in this coming of age pilgrimage as he sets off from Texas with his friend Paul. On their way to Oregon, they find friendship, beauty, and a renewed wonder for God and creation. Paul might even find a wife along the way.
Two of my favorite quotes:
It is a wonder that those exposed to such beauty forfeit the great questions in the face of this miraculous evidence. I think again about this small period of grace, and thank God for it, that if only for a season, I could feel the why of life, see it in the metaphor of light, in the endlessness of the cosmos, in the miracle of friendship. And had these mountains the ability to reason, perhaps they would contemplate the beauty of humanity, and praise God for the miracle that each of us is, pondering the majesty of God and the wonder of man in one bewildering context.
And if these mountains had eyes, they would wake to find two strangers in their fences, standing in admiration as a breathing red pours its tinge upon earth’s shore. These mountains, which have seen untold sunrises, long to thunder praise but stand reverent, silent so that man’s weak praise should be given God’s attention.