“At that moment, the whole universe made sense and we knew a sort of peace and understanding rarely found in human experience: an epiphany.”
– Ron Matson

I have an epiphany story from last summer as we were in the Black Hills of South Dakota with our entire set of kids, marriage partners, and 7 of my 8 grandkids.

I was explaining the word “epiphany” to our 9 year-old grandson, Alex, as an outgrowth of a story about his grandmother and me having an epiphany together one day during a visit to the Badlands. She and I were listening to Lakota Indian chants on the radio, smelling the sage and goldenrod, and then drove to the top of a bluff on a dirt road and suddenly found ourselves smack in the middle of a buffalo herd!

I explained to Alex that at that moment the whole universe made sense and we knew a sort of peace and understanding rarely found in human experience: an epiphany.

He listened well. Later, back at the reunion cabin where all of us were staying, Alex’s uncle asked him about the water tubing event that day when he “caught some air” with great elation. Uncle Dave asked, “What was that like?” and Alex responded, “I had an epiphany while I was up there.”

– Ron Matson, Wichita, KS