Continuing on our journey of “forty days” listening to God and letting the Holy Spirit lead, there were many sights and places we wanted to see and people suggested we see. Even though we’ve taken a lot of time, there just wasn’t enough time to see it all. We’ve had to remind ourselves that this is a pilgrimage of sorts, not a vacation.
We have stayed in unexpected places, visited longer than expected, and ministered in ways we didn’t anticipate. Yet, there was a part of me that felt like I was still missing something along the way, it took a while to settle my heart and mind and just be in the moment.
Our senses were overwhelmed by God’s creation. Every day more than the next. I didn’t know how we were going to go back home and do life. It definitely won’t look the same! We prayed and loosely prepared for this time of unplugging. We paid off bills: Our house is paid off as well as our car, and our utilities are currant. I don’t think anything could have really prepared us for what we encountered. We could not have expected the beauty, favor, love and grace we experienced the whole way.
We began our trip by camping on the shores of the Mississippi River taking time to soak in the first sunset of our trip. Working on second shift for years, causes you to miss out on such an “ordinary experience.” However, no sunset since we have left, or sunrise for that matter, has been ordinary! Our first sunrise was spent by the river watching a heron catch fish, dragonflies flitting about, and listening to the birds sing their good morning songs as we drank coffee sitting on the shore with anticipation of what adventure lies ahead.
We continued our trip into Nebraska where the state motto spelled out on their welcome sign declares, “The good life.” We came in search of my grandfather’s childhood home. From a time when things may have been simpler, compared to today’s standard, it took someone with a little more grit than you find in most people today. Staying in a small campground, at the local park, just on the edge of town, for a small donation; We meet people who knew my family name and were able to give some history that went along with the stories my grandpa told of his childhood home. We heard about the drought and dustbowl that caused so many to lose their farms, which is why my family left. Along with the history we were given directions to the cemetery we couldn’t find earlier to where the Hultman family were buried and the church they attended. There may not be any more Hultmans in the area, but the heritage of those people and the people of that era live on in Wausa.
Getting up just before sunrise, we walked across the town park where we camped. Over at the playground, we played and swung on the swings under the light of the moon, stars, and faint amber glow of security lights. Laughing like children discussing the heritage left behind in this sweet town. We prayed a blessing over the town and prayed that we can leave a heritage like theirs for future generations. It is a good life in Wausa!
“That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children, That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments;”Psalms 78:6-7 NKJV
Leaving the almost surreal town of Wausa, Nebraska which was surrounded by dirt roads, rolling hills of perfect corn rows of fields, and dairy farms, the land my grandfather once ran and played on, came to camp in the Bad Lands of South Dakota.
Boondocking on the edge of the National Park. There was a beauty to be found in the contrast of the rocky terrain, lack of water and extreme temperatures, biting flies, and the quiet vastness of space on land and in the sky. There’s just no denying that there’s a Creator with an intelligent design for this terrestrial sphere we call Earth.
We meet a couple who camped near us and spent the evening watching a meteor shower and sharing our life stories and what brought us to travel the country. Like us they chose to quit their jobs, unplug, and hit the road. They had been on the road much longer than we had, and unlike us, didn’t have plans to return. They even sold their house! It seems as if many people were on the road doing the same thing. COVID and the way of the world lately has got people rethinking life and how they want to live it. There is a great hole in many people’s hearts that have been disillusioned by world leaders, agendas of “the main stream,” and unrest that seems to have blanketed the world, needing to be filled with The Holy Spirit! However at the same time, we shouldn’t be surprised by the state of the world. In Matthew 7 of the Bible were told that such things would happen.
“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
Matthew 24:6-14 NKJV
The lonely and beautiful vastness of the Bad Lands with its desert climate and rock formations, was broken by the chattering prairie dogs, a comical creature chattering and squeaking among its fellow coteries. AND there were the buffaloes! A massive creature that stirs your heart with awe and wonder, you just want to reach out and touch. There is a majesty about them. It is very important to keep in mind, they are wild and command your respect, not too unlike Holy Spirit (one such creature gave me a stern reminder with the bow of his head and the stomp of his foot, less than a foot away from the passenger window of the truck where I was sitting) Don’t pet the fluffy cows! I wonder if the Creator created such massive animals and land formations to remind us that we aren’t as big as we think we are. Yet, God considers us His greatest creation. This was one of my favorite experiences. Honestly, I think, everything every day was my favorite!
Powerful reminder of God’s majesty!
To be continued…
Hope and a Future 