Those who drive along Highway 18 in western Oregon each fall are greeted with a delightful surprise from the tree-covered hillside flanking the road: a giant smiley face. The cheerful face is only visible in the autumn when the Larch tree needles turn yellow, contrasting with the surrounding, dark green Douglas fir trees (which create the eyes and mouth). A lumber company planted the three-hundred-foot diameter face in 2011 as part of an effort to replenish the timber they’d harvested.
Isaiah invites us to know God as the one who brings life to desolate places. He reminded
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