I pull
up an over-sized chair to sit below the reproduction portrait of a daughter
painted by American Master in a true American castle built by 20th
Century Railroad Baron in the foothills of Pike’s Peak, Colorado. The daughter seems silted and stiff even as
the master painter tried every technique to instill life and dimension into the
likeness of the privileged descendant of “Manifest
Destiny.” The massive mantelpiece in
the same room was gathered up from 16th century Spain to add
authenticity to this frontier mansion seems to dwarf my humble position as a
paying guest with its symbolic carvings long since lost in their purposed
meanings. The hundreds of quarter-sawn
oak panels lining the over-sized hallways and the stairs wide enough for the
Victorian gowned women and their escorts cry out, as if each contained a name
determined to be remembered as one of the important guests that have long since
passed from their appointed days of entertainment and business with the powerful
and wealthy General Palmer at Glen Eyrie.
Glen Eyrie castle as it is now was built by General Palmer to remember the affections and in memory of his wife who lived many years in Europe for health reasons away from the higher elevations of Colorado. It was designed as bit of Europe in the wilds of the Middle West. Queenie Palmer had fled across the Atlantic to regain her health and the magnificent stone castle built out of love and excess was incredibly functional and magnificent for its time and still is today. Still for all the expense and all the beauty ... life is fleeting, even in a great house in spectacular setting. In fact, in fitting with the general ironic pattern of massive houses, mansions and even castles … the builder seldom enjoys long life in the created building with its realm of exquisite glass and detail, exceptional quality and design and finished notoriety and attention.
It seems
ill health, unintended misfortune, accidents, financial ruin, marital discord
and familial problems plague most of these elegant estates. It is as if the
over spending, over planning and over sizing allows a vacuum of excess in these
gigantic homes leaving too much room for the opposite side of life. The fulfillment of all the dreams seems to
evaporate even as the builders finish with their crafted and skilled labor of
excellence. A certain kind of sadness
seems to invade the extra spaces that were left empty to show affluence. A certain kind of futility seems to settle
over the purposed show of greatness in the grand houses and the common traits
of the elusiveness of having it all in one’s lifetime overshadow the architect’s
carefully chosen classic lines and stately elements designed to impress the
world with the created structure.
It is
remarkable to me, as I ponder life.
There are common threads to our existence on the earth. In the ancient
and in the modern, certain themes seem to hold true through time. Human beings can build massive buildings,
exquisite homes and beautiful structures for numerous uses which can be geometrically
designed and perfected and ascetically purposed. Some stand throughout time and
are timeless and some stand out in time as skeletons and reminders of the
elusiveness of wealth, power and prestige without being used for anything except
to serve as a design or an architectural example for the following generations.
All
these buildings and homes represent the power, prestige and wealth of the
person or of the age and yet these same
structures seem to stand more importantly as examples of the futility of wealth
and position to secure anything permanent in their intended purpose and
fulfillment. From the military realm to
the political realm, to the countless other realms that occupy our daily living
… there are no realms that are completely and timelessly worthy of our trust in
the deepest parts of our souls. None can
be completely trusted. It is only the
Lord God and His ways that can be trusted.
So where are you putting your trust?
“Now know I that the LORD saves his anointed; he will hear him
from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember
the name of the LORD our God. They are brought down and fallen: but we
are risen, and stand upright”
(Psalm 20:6-8 NIV).
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