“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” Romans 1:20
So what in the world do y’all do? Now that is a good question. Perhaps it all started with our twelve years in the Air Force and especially our three years stationed in Germany. The bottom line is my wife Judy and I have always loved to travel. As you can imagine that was a little difficult during my 42 years as a pastor. When your calendar is defined by Sundays, Wednesdays and holidays…well, it somewhat limited our travel opportunities. With that said, we both were so grateful for the mission trips the church allowed us to lead and for the vacation time the church granted us. I always chuckled when we would escape for vacation and someone would invariably say, “Is that preacher gone again?” And I guess we were.
So when retirement came we immediately embraced and enjoyed the freedom that it granted. And in the last two years, three months and twenty days we have travelled with abandon. Sometimes it was another continent, sometimes another country or state and sometimes, well, just another city. But wherever and whenever, we have enjoyed our journeys. And here is the part that is most important…at least for us. Our travels don’t take us to the biggest and best amusement parks…no it usually takes us to places were we can see and embrace this wonderful creation of God. Nothing thrills us more than to just look and see what God has done. Whether it is a majestic mountain, a cool mountain stream or a thundering waterfall, we see the handiwork of God. And we look, we ooh and awe, we smile and grin and we talk about it.
This latest trip took us to the Alaskan Inner Passage and several small towns along the coast. It also took us to and through the Olympic National Park where we saw Hurricane Ridge and the Hoh Rainforest. We followed the Washington Coast and drove over to the Columba River Gorge where we saw waterfalls that were so tall they seemed to fall straight from heaven. We laid in a backyard and just looked at the stars and the satellites as they raced across the sky. We even saw the International Space Station doing the same. We spent some time walking the Oregon Coast listening to the mighty Pacific Ocean thunder before driving down to see the mighty Redwoods in Northern California. Yup…it was amazing and I suppose I’ll be writing about some it in the coming days.
Now here is the amazing thing. Right here in Southern Illinois, just next door in the Shawnee National Forest, or maybe just down the road or in your own neighborhood, we…you…can see the handiwork of God. Every sunrise and sunset, every cloud and ever changing leaf all shout the God of creation. So whether you travel like Judy and I or whether you just like to sit in the backyard and have a cup of coffee, be sure and look for God because surely He is there just waiting to sit with you. Take the time to enjoy Him for surely…He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 