When creation was almost completed, God was pleased with the work. "That’s good. That’s good,"
the Creator murmured quietly. "That’s very good."
But then the Divine remembered that there was a problem.
the Creator murmured quietly. "That’s very good."
But then the Divine remembered that there was a problem.
"What am I going to do with all these left-overs from creation?" the Celestial Builder wondered.
"I can’t just pile them in some corner here in Heaven and let them gather dust.
They’re much too beautiful for that.
True, they’re an odd collection –
"I can’t just pile them in some corner here in Heaven and let them gather dust.
They’re much too beautiful for that.
True, they’re an odd collection –
mountains
flat plains and plateaus,
canyons,
lots of cactus,
leaf-bearing trees and pines,
volcanic rocks, sandstone cliffs, limestone peaks.
And that’s just the beginning of this pile of left-overs from creation."
"I guess I didn’t plan too well in quantities for some items. Seems to me that I planted lots of mountains all around the world but I still have plenty of them left. They were not too popular in many places, like the Sahara desert and the Kansas prairies.
" Oh, and the cactus!
I can count the hairs on each human’s head but I can’t begin to count all the cactus I have left over.
I think they’re beautiful
– all spiny and oddly shaped.
Their blooms are just gorgeous;
yellow, pink, purple, orange, red, white, rose.
But they weren’t as welcome as I thought they would be in many areas.
I guess it has something to do with the thorns.
"I don’t really have too many pines or leaf-bearing trees left.
They were welcomed by nearly every cool spot on earth.
But, even so, I must have overestimated the demand.
"And rivers, I don’t have a single one left. Every place on earth was in need of water
and rivers were just the solution to that problem.
So I placed rivers everywhere I possibly could and I am completely out.
"Rivers.... Hmm.... That gives me an idea. I placed a pretty little river in the southern part of the American land mass, right between what will someday become North America and Central America. In a few million years or so, it will be designated as the border between the countries of the United States and Mexico.
It’s a grand little river that winds its way through lands which the early Spanish explorers called
‘Los Despoblados,’ or ‘The Uninhabited Places.’
‘Los Despoblados,’ or ‘The Uninhabited Places.’
"Hmmm... I wonder.... Maybe if I gave that river a little tug to the south, put a big bend in it that is,
I could make enough room there for all my left-overs from creation.
That way, at least the scenery wouldn’t be boring!
I think an extra 800,000 acres would be about enough space
to locate all the other beautiful things I have left over.
That way, at least the scenery wouldn’t be boring!
I think an extra 800,000 acres would be about enough space
to locate all the other beautiful things I have left over.
"Of course I can’t add any more rivers; I’ve used them all up.
So it’s bound to be a pretty dry and dusty place even with my lovely additions.
"Oh, well. In a few hundred thousand years, when I put the dinosaurs to rest,
I’ll get the National Park Service to add roads,
trails,
bathrooms,
and gift shops.
Then all the visitors that come to see that grand little river in the dry place
will never know that they are admiring creation’s left-overs!"
And so, it was – and apparently is to this day.
will never know that they are admiring creation’s left-overs!"
All photos by Bruce E. Rosenberger
taken at Big Bend National Park and
Big Bend Ranch State Park in Texas.
