Picture: Camped @ Valley of Fire: Looked as if we were dropped into the set of a Flintstones Movie in the town of Bedrock
I don’t think there could ever be two polar opposites as extreme as my father and me when it comes to making travel plans. My mother and father travelled extensively all over the world, going on tours that were well planned in advance. I, on the other hand have only one plan, what does God have in mind for me today?
When I asked my father where he was going on his next trip I thought I might get a brief answer of what continent(s) they would be going to, what countries and possibly some highlights of special sites they planned to see. Instead I would get a ream of papers organized and stapled together with daily itineraries. Such details as what time they were to get up, when they would arrive for breakfast and the minute they were to leave on the tour bus would come my way. Each and every fifteen minutes of the day was planned, and you better take care if you are the tour guide and there is any transgression in the timetable, for my father’s famous temper could erupt at such inconvenient inconsistencies!
How his son travels is so far different that you would think we came from distant planets. God is the tour guide, and He must make all arrangements as things unfold. Mother once said that when organizing an event create a skeletal plan, and then let God fill in the details. And, if God wished to rearrange the skeleton, then let Him do so.
In leaving on this pilgrimage there have been only the barest of skeletal plans. I have had some notion that we would circumambulate the North American Continent; in a contrary counter-clockwise direction (traditional pilgrimage circumambulations are clockwise). I knew we would begin with a tour of the Utah Canyons that are justifiably known for their tremendous beauty and grandeur. God prompted this pilgrimage for purposes fully known only to His all-knowing omniscience. I have some hints from Him, and He has revealed other parts of His plan as we have continued this journey, but it always makes it interesting to find deeper reasons as I assiduously follow His will.
What I find truly awe-inspiring is how He takes care of us with unfailing love and attention to detail. Some may call it coincidence or lucky breaks, but when time after time His total inner direction and outer answers to our needs are miraculously fulfilled, one must finally come to the conclusion that luck or coincidence simply does not suffice to explain how He perfectly takes care of us.
Last night we knew we would have to travel some miles to find a phone connection that would enable us to make a Skype call to the Victoria Group. Earlier in the day we travelled to the only nearby town to scout out a strong signal and get a few things at the store. Even though the town sported a Community College we had zero connection for our phone service. While driving back there was one stretch of road that showed promise of 4G with 3 bars; it would be sufficient. Turns out in the entire area we scouted there was less than a quarter mile of road that had any phone connection, and there happened to be a reasonable gravel turnout where we could park by the side of Hi-way just where the signal was the strongest.
Later that night we drove to the same spot and found it now had only 1 bar strength, and that would definitely not be enough. However since that was the only spot we had found any connection we turned it over to God and continued to set up the tablet and tethered it to the extraordinary phone Chad provides for us. At the appointed time we made the call and for nearly an hour we had perfect connection with that most wonderful group of souls in Victoria. When we finished I looked at the phone connection and we had 4G at 4 bars; thank you Ram!
Today we decided to leave Valley of Fire Campground due to cold winds picking up; we headed for places unknown. Carla saw there was a well-rated campground on Lake Mead at Boulder Beach for only 10 dollars a night. When we arrived we found a lovely corner campground spot with an unobstructed view of the deep blue waters of Lake Mead and a red mountainous backdrop; much warmer weather and no winds, thank you Ram!
So you see, we don’t do too badly with God as our tour guide. And although this trip can have all the appearances of a vacation or holiday it varies significantly in that from stem to stern it has been dedicated to His service. I can tell you the last twenty four hours He has inwardly worked me relentlessly, giving me a load to carry that is almost more than I think that I can bear. Of course that is true, of myself I cannot carry the load He has given me, He must make that possible as He also makes such perfect arrangements for our travel and sees to every other detail in our lives. Living in perfect trust of following His will and depending only on His abundant supply, I would have it no other way.
These are further pictures from Pilgrimage North America. I continue to learn about posting these pictures and I hope you are able to access them properly. The link is: https://plus.google.com/u/2/photos/104170741072595580408/albums/6209989194023900545?sort=1