Sunday, September 29, 2013

Miles and Miles of...

Traveling the N-S length of South Africa, and then considering the same for Botswana, one truth is striking.  Both countries are sparsely inhabited.  Before we came to Bots we were aware that the population is small, only about 2 million; but the area is large, about the size of Texas.  South Africa has a bit more space and a lot more people, but it still has miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles.

On our driving trip acorss South Africa, we were again struck by how much it resembles the vast empty plains of the western part of the USA.  You cross mountains or hills, and suddenly the horizon is distant more than 20 miles away.  In most of both countries, there are acres and acres of brushy scrub land with no trees.  In the distance you can see hills.  Here are some scenes shot from the car.











I once studied, briefly, the immensity of the cosmos.  We are but a small blue dot in the midst of our galaxy, which in turn is a small speck in the billions of objects in the vast cosmos.  Why so big, why so empty?

I think G^d is sending us a subtle message.  We are indeed insignificant, no matter what we think.  Yet, despite our insignificance, individually and corporately, G^d chose to love us enough to die for us.

Thanks be to G^D!

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