My Memories of an Oregon River

The beauty is beyond a spiritual experience.

My early childhood was spent in Oregon. As an adult, I love to return there as often as I can. I have some siblings that still live there and a ton of cousins.

I had to leave Oregon, still a child, when my mother divorced and moved to Colorado. Eventually, we ended up in Florida, where life took its hold on me much like a prisoner, unable to escape.

My fondest memory in nature happened during one trip to southern Oregon to visit my brother. He knows how much I love the rivers there, so he drove me around to see many of them. One in particular sticks out though.

I didn’t take any pictures because I was truly so entranced by its beauty that it never occurred to me.

I can still see and feel everything about that day that I experienced then.

I can still hear the river’s gentle roar as it rushed over the rocks and boulders.

I can still see the blue skies and the rolling hills covered with pine trees.

I can still feel the warmth of the sun on my face as we sat on the river's edge.

I can still feel the cool breeze and hear the rustling of the trees.

Everything about that day is permanently etched into my soul.

A decade later, I can have a repeat performance by simply closing my eyes and remembering every detail I experienced then. I have tears flowing down my cheeks even as I write these words.

There’s something else I experienced that day that goes even beyond the beauty of nature.

Love.

For my brother who was sweet and considerate enough to take me there, just because he knows how much I love Oregon rivers.

Also, it was a deeply spiritual event where I experienced the love and the Presence of God. Knowing that it was Him that created all these things for me to enjoy, and being thankful that I was able to be there, brought Him so close to me as if He was sitting on the other side of me.

One day, I hope to move back to Oregon. My dream is to live in a log cabin nestled beside one of these spectacular rivers. If this never happens, I’ve put my request into God.

“I don’t need a mansion, please… can I just have a log cabin by a river?”

That would be heaven to me.

Thank you to Spyder who posted this writing prompt in May Writing Prompts: 9th — 13th article, along with Ravyne Hawke, Diana C., and jules.