My wife and I just returned from a trip to Charleston and Greenville (Green-vul) in South Carolina, DuPont State Forest in North Carolina, and Savannah in Georgia. Given the distance between home and destinations, which the longest stretch was five and a half hours, it made much more sense to drive. That, and we would have the car to get around in when we got to where we were going. It was so good to get away together and experience history, nature, and cultures that we wouldn’t otherwise at home in Florida. Because it was still the South in August, the weather wasn’t much different, but when in Rome (Georgia?), c’est la vie! That’s what they say in Paris Mountain State Park, BTW. And let me take a sec to opine on the concept of a “staycation”. Just stop it. Unless you live on the beach or in a mountain resort, and don’t need to work, there’s no such thing. Call it a couple days off, maybe, but don’t dare compare it to a vacation. What is constant, regardless of whether you don’t leave the house or venture across this great country? You are never more than a short drive to a Waffle House. Those suckers are quasi-omnipresent!
Anyway, we were able in a span of just seven days to see the grace and glory of God displayed on one hand and be reminded of the depravity of fallen man on the other, in ways that we would not have had we stayed home. We saw the natural beauty of waterfalls, mountains, marshes, and forests, and also the perseverance, ingenuity, and faith of people that, even in wildly divergent circumstances, strived to make a better life for themselves and their loved ones, or at the very least, survive until the next day. At the other end of the spectrum, ample evidence of our selfishness, greed, lack of compassion, and even hatred of those Jesus calls our neighbors remains. Generations of people with African descent were enslaved as cheap labor, denied of the most rudimentary of human and civil rights. At the same time, Americans were killing fellow Americans, unable to humbly submit to our Creator’s edict to love Him and love each other.
It’s often been said, but is absolutely true: “There but for the grace of God go I.” We are providentially placed where we are for God’s good purposes, for “such a time as this” (Esth. 4:14). We are called to stand for Truth (Josh. 23:6, 2 Thes. 2:15), and defend the defenseless and those without voice (Prov. 31:8-9). We are mandated to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to the Lord and His kingdom (Rom. 12:1). And ultimately, Jesus tells us to go and make disciples, promising us His presence as we do (Matt. 28:18-20).
If you have the opportunity and resources, go somewhere you haven’t been, or haven’t been in a long time. Broaden your horizons and deepen your perspective, looking for God’s handiwork or listening for His call to serve Him and others as you do. And always be mindful of this: when you get hungry, you are only a highway off ramp or two away from a Waffle House.
Top Picture- High Falls in DuPont State Forest, NC
Bottom Picture- Slave quarters, McLeod Plantation, Charleston, SC