Category Archives: Travel

Treasures and Time

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Greetings, my beloveds! Another week… thought I’d shake it up a bit and post a day late. Truth is, we had our first power outage last night and no posting was going to get done without power. The winds blew something fierce and we got a bit of freezing rain and then, poof! darkness fell upon the land. Thankful for our wood stove and the hubby’s persistence in purchasing wood, we survived the five or so hours of “living like pioneers”. Minus the data on our phones, and the battery operated flashlights, and the printed card game we played…

Would you like to live like a Pioneer? Photo by dogadakisakal on Pexels.com

I suppose the blackout added to my muse for today, which was prompted by a question I saw posed a week or so ago: What would be an era you would have liked to live in? Take a moment with me. Live in forever? Visit? Future? Past? I suppose the scenario may change if you were stuck there versus time travelling through… so let’s say we were just visiting. I’m hearing many of my generation and the next saying “Oh, if only we could go back to the good old days — live off the land, no pressures, no this or that” Which seems fair coming from a girl who just moved to the country to raise chickens and bunnies and learn to grow her own veggies. Still, there’s a never ending amount of work involved with those things… and no Home Hardware to help in 1800.

Perhaps some of you would say Bible Times would be the ticket. Meet Jesus and the disciples. Get a true feeling for the scriptures and the parables as a people of the time. Still, as a young woman, my life would look very very different. Perhaps my stubborn attitude would’ve gotten me into trouble. Jesus or not. Or swing the pendulum. Future? Automated everything. Convenience extrapolated to the max. What kind of satisfaction, or lack thereof, would that elicit? All fair assessments, and worthy of musing.

Where would you go if you could time travel?

A week or so ago we made an impromptu visit to an old friend who is now living in an old century home in a quaint little town not too far from us. Her place is fabulous! Perfectly accented with antiques and knick knacks that truly bring her showcase home to full beauty. I craved her secrets and sources, and kicked myself for being the realist I am, and that I am entirely too cheap. Besides, our century farmhouse has to be knocked down a notch due to dog hair, house flies and the manure patch next door. Pioneer times, my foot.

Still, I am taken in by things that various people treasure. I marvel at home reno shows and thrift finders who have a gift for finding that perfect thing. That little gem that fits exactly on that shelf and screams I am the G.O.A.T! Perhaps, you’ve DIY’d something or inherited a family heirloom that you display with pride. I found a little egg cup at the thrift store the other day that did me in. Normally, I gloss over the knick knack section (“frugal” remember?) but I picked up this little thing and hummed and hawed at the price tag (a whopping $1.98!) and decided it was too cute. Chickens. Farmhouse. Maybe even bordering on “vintage” … a farmhouse needs a chicken egg cup, right??

And so I enjoyed my hard boiled egg in my new egg cup on Saturday morning. And dream of chickens come spring.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 6:19-21

Does this mean we cannot collect the goods and find that perfect piece? I don’t think so. It’s a good reminder to stay balanced. To live with Heaven in mind. To treasure our relationships and nurture our love for others not things. I can easily get sucked in to the beauty of “things” (or creatures…) instead of my people, so I must check myself every now and then. A good power failure reminds me that all that I have right now, in this era in history, in this moment in time, was designed perfectly just for me. I am given what I need and blessed with so much more. And so, although it is fun to dream and ponder and muse about this time or that treasure, reality tells me that you can’t take it with you. Be grateful and generous. Be thankful and thoughtful. But dream a little.

Map Musing

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Greetings beloveds! What have you been up to recently? Are you back to moving and shaking again? Have you been out and about? Perhaps even travelling again? It’s been on my mind and what I’ve been musing about this week. Okay, maybe not the travelling itself… but the mapping and planning. We’ve been driving around a lot lately … no big trips, but we are constantly plugging destinations into the ol’ Phone GPS. The “Global Positioning System” (yes, I had to look it up) contains 3 parts… the space system that uses something way out there to find your position in comparison to the whole world, the control system, that makes sense out of all that space place data, and then the user component (that’s you and me) who plug in what we want to know into our little personal maps. It’s a complex system but ever so helpful — until it’s not.

Have you ever entered an address only to “arrive at your destination” and not be where you wanted to be? It happened to us once across the border. Somehow we got led under a bridge underpass and down a dirt road to a dead-end stop next to a big chain link fence. Not the address we were hoping for. Or entered a setting with no tolls or highways and get wandering in circles because the most direct route was avoided? Or like me, with no data coverage and your GPS is useless because it is missing one of the “space” or “control” components? I know, I know, some days the old method of paper maps folded out on the roof of the car and highlighted or sharpie markered routes were easier and better. Or CAA “triptics”. Or what were those big yellow spiral-bound map books called that everyone had stashed in the sides of their car doors? Those were fun.

Cartography is generally considered to be the science and art of designing, constructing and producing maps. It includes almost every operation from original fieldwork to the final printing and marketing of maps.  I have visions of great pirates marking islands on ships as master seafarers of old. Or trailblazers traipsing through thick forests hacking away at overgrowth. Did you read my post about Dashrath Manijhi? He was a trailblazer. (Read about it here) I think Google does it now. Art or computer — it is for sure a needed skill. When they were younger, our kids loved to create and participate in scavenger hunts and treasure mapping. They even dabbled a little in geocaching and finding treasures hidden there by someone else. There is value in knowing about maps and how to get to where you need to be.

If you are like me, you like to know the route. You like to see what’s coming and when it’s coming. You want to be prepared for obstacles and time delays. You want to be in control of your final destination. You want to have a plan. We all know that that is not always the case. Space, controls, and often the end users invariably make mistakes or miss something. We enter bad data and get unfinished or incomplete results. Sometimes this means we miss the treasure at the end of the rainbow. Sometimes it means we have great adventures and discover new things. I suppose it depends on your perspective on the journey. The road less travelled, or the predictable and safe route?

Don’t you love it when there are clearly marked paths with signage and direction? We know that our Bible is God’s handbook in life. We understand that God has “given us the Way” through His scriptures, lessons and promises. We read verses about preparing a place for us and knowing the plans to prosper you and give hope to your future. If we look around we can also see the landmarks that God has placed along the path: a chance meeting here, a phone call there, a “circumstance” that leads us in one direction or another. We have to look for them as markers though. And sometimes we drive by too quickly to notice them.

How many times have I prayed for myself and others that God would show us a clear path, a distinct open or closed door, a sign to know which route is the best. Often I am out of range or have little data available on that life GPS… and I don’t get my controlled and direct route marked out in yellow highlighter. So I wait. And I try and look around and gather my bearings and read the signs as best I can. Then, the only way to know is to move forward and see where the path leads. A great adventure? Or a chain link fence under a concrete underpass? You can always re-calculate, re-calibrate and turn around. The final destination may just take a little longer. It’s worth the trip. Happy trails, friends!

LOVE

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We’ve made it beloveds! Countdown to Christmas and we’ve come to the last Advent candle (okay, Christmas Eve to go, but you know what I mean): LOVE. Such a powerful word so full of meaning. And the subject of so many stories… but I thought I’d share this one I found. It’s a true story about a man named Dashrath Manijhi who lived in a small village in India, who managed to carve his way into the history books — literally.

Dashrath was born in 1929 into a poor family. As a young man, he had his eye on a pretty girl named Falguni Devi, but she was beyond his caste and “out of his league”. Her father refused to let the two marry. Yet, love is a stronger force than man-made prejudices, and the couple ran off and married alone, and raised two children near the base of a giant mountain. One day when Falguni was walking along the rocky edge of the mountain carrying a meager lunch for her day labourer husband, she slipped and fell and seriously injured herself. Her beloved husband rushed to her aid and made the incredible journey around the mountainside to the only hospital nearby. Unfortunately, the journey was just too long and Falguni succumbed to her injuries and died.

Dashrath was obviously devastated and vowed to “move a mountain” in response. Like Noah building an ark in the middle of a drought, he was mocked and ridiculed for chiselling his way through the rocky mountain, forming a direct route to the neighbouring town’s hospital! Dashrath attempted to seek help from India’s government at one point and took a train to Delhi to meet with leadership and plead his case, but was kicked off the car because he didn’t have a paid ticket! Legend says he walked the remaining 1000km. It took 22 years (from 1960-1982) to single-handedly carve his way through the mountain, using only a chisel and hammer, but the “mountain man” eventually created a path 360 feet in length, 30 feet high and 25 feet wide. Because of his determination and love for his wife, the distance between the districts of Atri and Wazirganj has been reduced from 55 km to a mere 15km. A gate marks the original pathway carved “with love”.

The gateway to the path carved through a mountain!

And so we reflect on the final advent candle. A powerful reminder of God’s love for a broken world. A love so deep He sent His only son to earth to heal our brokenness. This is what Advent anticipation is … waiting for the Savior to arrive. Our paths were not promised to be easy. There are falls, hurts, and even death along the road, but love makes a way. He chisels through our hardened hearts and quickens the path to safety. As we enter the final countdown to Christmas, let us be reminded that this season is not about trees, presents and good food (as much as I love good food!) it is truly about God’s love for us. Be blessed!