“Where is your next trip?
I hear this question often. My friends and family see me as someone who travels a lot, so I always have the next trip planned. Funny, it took me a while to realize that, compared to the average person, I do travel a lot.
I’ve always loved exploring new places and trying new experiences. Gail and I started traveling early in our marriage because she loved adventure as much as I did. We both liked to hike, ski (on snow and in water), swim in the ocean, and explore historical sites and new cities. We also visited our home places in Altoona and Anderson, Indiana every year.
Then we had kids. When our children were young, our options were more limited, but we usually still found ways to see the world. We also wanted our daughters to benefit from experiencing different cultures, even in the States. The American Northeast, South, Midwest, and Far West certainly express life in slightly different ways, and all of them are enjoyable.
We were blessed to have friends with greater means who often let us use their vacation homes. One of Gail’s bosses owned two vacation homes, one in Florida, and one at the shore in Maryland. The condo in Florida was huge. It was on the 22nd floor of a building also housing Whitney Houston, Sammy Sosa, and a famous rapper. We looked like the Clampetts driving up in our van packed with kids’ stuff. I’ll never forget pulling up to the front doors while Missy Elliott drove by in her Hummer. She even used her place for an episode of “Cribs.” We constantly looked out our floor-to-ceiling windows trying to see her or Whitney on their verandas. I guess they call that stalking, but we didn’t care. We just felt incredibly blessed.
In the 2000s, I began taking mission trips around the world, including Haiti, Bolivia, Ireland, Thailand, India, and many other places (31 countries to date). These trips deepened my love of travel and exposed me to many life-changing experiences.
All these experiences on this planet make me look forward to exploring a “new heaven and earth” in future millennia. If God can create a spectacular place like this one, who knows what’s in store. I’m in!
More importantly, experiencing other cultures, not just vacation spots, opened my eyes to the blessings of being born in the United States. I confess, it still irritates me when people slam our country, either demanding more “free stuff” or ignoring how the rest of the world lives. There are good reasons so many want to move here. But that is another discussion.
This weekend, my friends and I took our annual “Don’s birthday weekend trip.” We rented a house in the Poconos, next to a bubbling stream and surrounded by the most spectacular display of fall foliage I’ve ever seen. We sat by the fire for hours, drifting off to sleep to the sound of rushing water. The skies were brilliant blue by day and star-studded at night. The house felt like it was in the middle of nowhere, but a great pizza joint was only a ten-minute drive. Ah yes, heaven on earth!
The afternoon drive home was also a display of God’s fall art collection. Late-afternoon light bounced off the mountains in an ever-changing show of color. Nothing beats munching on pretzel sticks, great conversation, and enjoying God’s handiwork along Interstate 81 from Mount Pocono to Mechanicsburg.
But alas, home again.
The moon last night was dazzling! It displayed its glory in Mechanicsburg as well as across northern Pennsylvania. It was still there when I awakened at 6:00 this morning, reminding me that we are only a speck of color in a much larger masterpiece. We can travel the world, but when we see the sun, moon, and stars, we catch a glimpse of a much larger “culture,” the Kingdom of the Creator.
Sometimes, the best I can do is look out and up, be amazed, and bow in humble adoration. I tried to describe the feeling in my last blog post – Wonder!
Then, this morning, as the sun washed over my deck, I again enjoyed the beauty of maple trees, birds gobbling up breakfast at my feeder buffet, and squirrels acrobatically rustling the leaves as they prepared for winter. Light peeking through the golden leaves of maples, birch, and oak trees is a sight to behold. Doves waddling across the top of my deck put on a comedic show. I was reminded that spectacular beauty is not only found on Mt. Pocono, in Thailand, or in Ireland, but right here in my backyard.
I’ve traveled the world, but as Dorothy said, “There’s no place like home.” Beauty exists in faraway places, but it's also right here, in front of your nose. Blue Mountain is awash in color, which I can see in the distance, peeking through the branches of my birch tree.
When we live somewhere for a while, the beauty around us sometimes loses its luster. We’ve seen it so many times that we become jaded to its splendor.
Southcentral Pennsylvania is a beautiful place to live. Plus, we’ve got Hershey! I’ve traveled many places in the world, and when people hear that I live near Hershey, they light up! A few years ago in Hawaii, I was perusing a gift shop, looking for another cheesy refrigerator magnet, when I started chatting with a young employee. She asked where I was from, and during the conversation I mentioned that I live near Hershey. She lit up like a candle and wanted to hear about Hershey, Pennsylvania. She told me how much she had always wanted to visit there, like it was the Taj Mahal or something. I was thinking, She lives in Hawaii, for Pete’s sake, and she wants to visit Hershey! Go figure. I haven’t been in Hersheypark for decades! I guess the grass is always greener.
I am reminded of a simple truth. Don’t let life’s activities, responsibilities, and hardships blind you to the beauty right where you are. Don’t let familiarity obscure your own Eden.
People who live in Florida, the Southwest, or parts of the Midwest don’t get to behold a fall mountain in all its glory. In many places, the seasons don't change much, but they have their own beauty, too. I know folks who live in Florida who never stroll along a sandy beach. What a crime! Even the sunrise or sunset over the vast ocean can become too common.
As Jesus often said, some things are only for “those who have eyes to see and ears to hear.” If you close your eyes and put your fingers in your ears, you’ll miss many delightful moments wherever you are.
My next trip? Through my kitchen and out the patio door onto my deck.
Live Inspired!
Don Mark
