Imago Adventus - 08 - Stairs

Genesis 28:10-16 Jacob left Beer- sheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it.”

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This staircase is at my favorite hiking spot in Cincy and its really weird to find this in the middle of the hiking paths. The paths that this staircase connect are all pretty rough (not paved, etc) and then you come to this staircase that is LONG and seems really out of place. But it does obviously get you from one beautiful place to another. Like the ladder in Jacob’s dream that connects the place where he is between Beersheba and Haran and where the ladder leads to heaven - connecting heaven to earth. Bringing the everyday in line with the divine. This staircase is an easy one to go down (except when its a bit slick) but it really feels like a long one to go up. Yet either way leads to great beauty.