drawing in church

When I was 14 or 15 I attended a youth conference. On one evening, we gathered at a ranch near Mission Peak owned by a member of the church. I was smitten with this one particular young lady and when she suggested we go on the hayride, I was suddenly an expert Hay Rider. Hay Rider was my middle name, at that point.

After a rather bumpy ride (there wasn’t actually any hay on the trailer) we came to rest just shy of the crest of a hill. We got out (about 10 of us) and followed the ranch owner to the crest. Up top was this big beautiful tree and a little bench that had been carved out of some previous tree.

The ranch owner had us kneel on the ground and watch as the sun slowly slipped away. As we sat there (I was trying to put my arm around the girl but was still a little shy), the ranch owner said that if us young men served honorable missions we could bring our sweet hearts back to here and picnic on this hill over looking this valley (and the SF bay). As the sun kissed the earth we could turn to our sweet hearts and propose. Often in church I can be seen drawing these pictures. I don’t know how to draw the sun setting so I draw it in the right corner.

Several years ago, Lifesaver Candies had a commercial where a father and daughter sit under a tree and watch the sun set. So occasionally I’ll draw the picture with my son. But if you ever see me in church drawing this (which is really the only thing I draw at church), just smile and know – it’s just me looking forward to a day of picnic and a sunset.