Life Lessons from the National Parks

August 30, 2010

Now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2

America is still struggling through economic woes for sure, but I see some hopeful signs of recovery, both nationally and personally. In the past few months, two people I know have gotten jobs after looking for a long time—one of them is my daughter (yay!).

Friday’s New York Times ran an article about how vacation travel is rebounding, but with an emphasis on frugality. That’s good news for the National Park Service (NPS), which expects about 285 million visitors this year. Already, the number of tourists at big parks like Yellowstone, Yosemite and Death Valley exceeds last year’s totals. The Times piece quotes an NPS spokesman as saying, “We usually see an uptick in visitation when times are tough.”

That phrase made me wonder if church attendance had gone up as well, and according to a Gallup poll, it has “inched up” so far in 2010. But the organization adds this caveat:

There has been well-publicized speculation about the possibility that church attendance has risen over the past two years as Americans became more despondent and worried as a result of the economic recession. However, trends in Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index, an ongoing measure of perceived economic confidence, reflect just the opposite pattern, with both church attendance and economic confidence increasing from 2008 to 2009, and now into 2010.

Such correlations do not prove causality, and it is possible that despite the more positive economic confidence, other economic realities such as unemployment could be related to the increase in church attendance. Still, these particular population-level data do little to directly support the theory that people seek out the solace of religion, as measured in religious service participation, when economic times turn tough.

So what does it take for us to turn to God? The first thing is the conviction of the Holy Spirit, that is, as Charles Ryrie explains it in his study Bible, “to set forth the truth of the Gospel in such a clear light that [people] are able to accept or reject it intelligently; i.e., to convince [them] of the truthfulness of the Gospel. The Spirit will help break down the indifference of the typical pagan who has no conviction of sin, who holds a low regard for righteousness, and who pays no heed to warnings of the coming judgment” (from John 16:8-11).

As Ryrie notes, we are free to accept or reject this truth; however, the middle ground—indifference—is a more typical response among unbelievers. The apostle Peter warns of this attitude: “’Where is the promise of His coming? [they say] Everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed [and] by the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of [the] ungodly” (2 Peter 3:4-7). In other words, God’s work in creation is proof enough that He does what He says He will do.

But still there are those who will say, “Okay, okay, I get it. But I’ll think about it later.” Have you ever heard the Winans’ song, “Tomorrow” (not the one from the musical Annie)? If you’re not familiar with it, please listen to them sing it on youtube.

No, tomorrow is not promised, as the song concludes.

What God does promise is today, and eternity (Hebrews 13:6, John 3:16).

If you haven’t accepted Jesus as your Savior and as Lord of your life, better choose the Lord today.

For tomorrow very well might be too late.

Comments (1) Sep 01 2010

August 23, 2010

No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Luke 9:62

In June 2008, Florida Governor Charlie Crist announced a proposed deal with the United States Sugar Corporation to buy up all its assets, including 187,000 acres of land for Everglades restoration. The price: $1.75 billion.

According to a New York Times article, “Never before had so much land north of Everglades National Park been made available.” Wetlands would be saved along with endangered plants and animals. Environmentalists were delighted–and so was the National Park Service.

Finally, after the project had been scaled back three times, two lawsuits filed, much negotiation conducted and with less tax revenue available for the purchase, it looks like some kind of deal will actually get done. Two weeks ago, the South Florida Water Management District, which will buy and manage the land, voted to pay $197 million for 26,790 acres, with an option to buy more land later.

Despite the less ambitious outcome, Gov. Crist is pleased, and in a statement he quoted the philosopher Lao Tzu: “The longest journey begins with a single step.”

Taoist philosophy in this case dovetails with Jesus’ words: start at the beginning. For a Christian, that means first putting our hand to the plow by responding to the invitation to follow Jesus (Matthew 11:28).

The word picture Luke conjures up should be very familiar to anyone who has ever tilled the soil. If you keep looking back while you’re making a furrow, your rows will be crooked, and by the time you get to the end of the field, everything will be all off.  Anyone who farms needs to realize what he or she is getting into. Drought, storms, pests and uncertain yield are the norms. A farmer who’s distracted won’t last very long.

Like farming, the Christian life is hard work. Scripture cautions Jesus’ followers to carefully consider the cost of a full commitment to Him. We’re adjured to prepare for the long haul, to “work out our salvation” (Philippians 2:12, 13) after we step out in faith. “Forget what lies behind and reach forward to what lies ahead,” Paul says later in Philippians 3:13.   And the writer of Hebrews encourages us to “run with endurance” and “fix our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:1, 2). A Christian who’s constantly looking back won’t last for the entire journey.

Will Gov. Crist eventually get everything he wants? Maybe. Will the Everglades ever be fully restored? I doubt it. Will those who sign on to the Christian life always reap a  bumper crop? Definitely not. Droughts, storms, pests and uncertain yields this side of heaven are spiritual givens as well.

That’s why it’s so good to know our hand is not alone on the plow (Psalm 16:8, 73:23).

Comments (2) Aug 26 2010

August 16, 2010

Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1a, 2

We tend to think of our national parks in terms of gorgeous scenery and wide-open spaces filled with rarely seen wildlife. Of course, many do fit that description.

We go to them for rest, relaxation and renewal, to get away from our overcrowded, overscheduled, busy lives. A good idea, generally.

But our national park system ultimately is about more than those things. All together each unit represents not only our land, but our history as well. We celebrate our freedom at the Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Bell. We applaud our fighting spirit and honor heroes at places like Bunker Hill and Gettysburg.

But sometimes our past is not glorious. Civil rights sites, such as Little Rock Central High School and Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Sites, serve as reminders of times when our country wasn’t at its best.

I’ve been reading about another National Historic Site, one I never knew existed until recently, a place that explores a period of great shame for our nation. Ironically, it came into existence at a time when we pulled together as never before—except, of course, for those unfortunate enough to be the scapegoats.

In 1942, the U.S. government ordered almost 120,000 men, women and children out of their homes and businesses, and into military-style camps. Manzanar, located at the foot of the beautiful Sierra Nevada range in eastern California’s Owens Valley, was one of ten war relocation centers where Japanese American citizens and resident Japanese aliens spent the duration of World War II (German and Italian Americans also were affected by unjust internment, but their numbers weren’t nearly as large).

The valley used to be home to Paiute Indians, before miners, ranchers and the military moved in (another less than honorable part of American history…but that’s for another day). The town of Manzanar developed into an agricultural community at the beginning of the 20^th century (Manzanar is the Spanish word for “apple orchard”). The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power slowly accumulated all the water rights in the valley and built an aqueduct, and eventually the town was abandoned. Then the federal government swooped in and leased 6,200 acres to establish its detainment camp.

Today at Manzanar, you can take an auto tour and see remnants of orchards (you can even pick some apples), building foundations (only 3 out of 800 structures remain intact) and the camp cemetery. Extensive exhibits detail the detainees’ experiences.

My dictionary defines shame as “a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming or impropriety,” “a condition of humiliating disgrace or disrepute,” and “something that brings censure or reproach.” Manzanar embodies all that—guilt over our government’s actions following Pearl Harbor (easier to feel, perhaps, for those of us who weren’t alive during the war), plus humiliation and even ruin for Americans who looked like the enemy.

We all know those agonizing sensations to some degree or other. Whether it’s from something we did or was done to us, most of us can still recall the instances with a flushed face, clenched fists or deep sorrow. I dare say shame and guilt are the foundation of many of the problems, hurts and unhappiness we’ve ever experienced. And they can literally dog us to death.

But the lesson from Manzanar is that we can learn from our past. “It’s a measure of a nation’s maturity when it can admit such mistakes,” says Ken Burns, the filmmaker behind the national parks documentary, America’s Best Idea.

The life of Jesus and the words of Scripture, of course, offer the best antidote. The author of Hebrews says Jesus scorned the shame of death on a cross because He knew joy would be the end result. He suffered through the most degrading way to die in Roman society, and turned it instead into the greatest sacrifice ever made. He took all of our sin, shame and guilt—past, present and future—with Him to the cross, then overcame that tremendous burden by coming back to life and triumphantly returning to heaven.

The message of Jesus’ life and death is that we don’t have to be all tangled up with shame and regret. They’re already taken care of. When we’re ready to throw off the heavy weight of our sin, He’s there to catch it. “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love…He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities…As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:8, 10, 12).

Give God all the agony over wrong things you’ve said, done or thought, the things no one else knows about, the ones everybody knows about. I hate those feelings as much as you do, Jesus seems to be saying. Just keep your eyes on Me. I’ve dealt with them already. They’re over, past, done with, gone, defeated. I’ll bring good out of your suffering (Romans 8:28), like I did on the cross.

Let me assure you that I’m talking to myself as much as to you.

The thing is—do we believe Him?

Will we take Him up on His offer?

Comments (3) Aug 17 2010

August 9, 2010

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

Perhaps you read the reports about how Jack Hanna, Director Emeritus at the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo and Aquarium, host of television show Into the Wild, and frequent guest on The Late Show with David Letterman, fended off a trio of grizzlies in Glacier National Park.

According to his account on The Early Show, Hanna, his wife and two others were on a hike when they encountered a mother bear and her two cubs. They backed up to give the animals room to pass, and made noise to ward off an attack. But one cub, weighing about 125 pounds, kept coming, so Hanna whipped out his ever-present can of bear spray—different from anti-personnel defense spray like mace—and gave the animal a faceful. All escaped unharmed.

Sadly, a few days later, further south in Montana, three people were attacked by a mama grizzly at a campground near Yellowstone National Park. One man died. The adult bear was eventually captured (and probably put down), while her three surviving, undernourished cubs were sent to a new home at ZooMontana in Billings.

Scary stuff!

But just so you don’t swear off hiking forever, Backpacker magazine notes, “Your odds of being attacked by a bear in Yellowstone are 1 in 3 million…And you have a better chance of being crushed by a vending machine anywhere than killed by a bear in Glacier.”

We all like to see animals in their natural habitat, in the wild. That’s part of the thrill of visiting our national parks. However good sense (and park rangers) tells us we need to keep our distance and take precautionary measures to avoid attracting them. And in the event they get too close for comfort, we should be prepared to defend ourselves.

The same is true in our own natural realm. It’s a spiritual jungle out there! “In the world you will have trouble,” Jesus says in John 16:33. Our adversary not only comes on like a loud lion, but also sneaks up like a cougar stealthily stalking his prey (Job 1:7). He can make sin look as innocent and fun as the cutest little animal (2 Corinthians 11:14)—until it turns on us without warning. And like a fascinating but deadly snake, once sin insinuates itself into our lives it wreaks havoc (Genesis 3).

Maybe you’ll never come within heart-pounding distance of a bear, but no one escapes the influence of “the rulers…the authorities…the powers of this dark world [and] the spiritual forces of evil” (Ephesians 6:12).

“But take heart!” Jesus encourages us in John 16:33. “I have overcome the world.”

Thank You, Lord!

So take a tip from Jack Hanna about how to protect yourself against wild animals, but more importantly, study Scripture to prepare for encounters with the enemy of your soul. Know his schemes (2 Corinthians 3:11), be on guard (2 Peter 3:17, 1 Corinthians 10:12), avail yourself of the power God gives you to thwart his attacks (2 Peter 2:9, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Ephesians 6:10-18, Hebrews 4:16), then stand firm and resist  (1 Peter 5:9, James 4:7).

God’s got your back.

Comments (2) Aug 10 2010

August 2, 2010

Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

Having just returned from a refreshing two weeks away from home—no postings for a while gave you a clue, right?—I’m naturally attuned to talk of vacations.

So when I saw a piece in The New York Times about President Obama’s controversial weekend getaway to Acadia National Park in Maine, I took the time to read it.

I was heartened to see that the First Family seems to enjoy our parks—last summer they went to Yellowstone.  At Acadia, they boated on Frenchman’s Bay, hiked, rode bikes and went to the summit of Cadillac Mountain, the tallest peak on the Eastern Seaboard and a great spot to catch a sunrise (I’ve been there three times, so I can easily envision the places they went).

The problem, according to some commentators, was that Michelle Obama had just urged Americans to vacation in communities along the Gulf of Mexico that have been economically hard hit from the oil spill.

Kind of makes me glad nobody’s scrutinizing my leisure activities…

Actually, Someone is. God goes with me on vacation, too, and not just in the Bible I pack and admittedly don’t read often enough while I’m away. He’s in the car, on the plane, walking the beach, hiking up trails, and at tourist attractions right next to me.

He remains the same God no matter where I go. The question is, am I as consistent?

The sad answer is, not always. I get cranky when my careful vacation planning falls apart (just ask Joe…). Haphazard meal times + heat = headaches and more crabbiness (ditto). I have a real problem with airport security procedures, and deplore the fact that baggage fees mean more people bring their bags onboard (even as I contribute to the problem). And I hate having to deal with crowds (I have enough at home, that’s why I’m escaping!).

It’s sometimes tempting to act differently (i.e. worse) around strangers whom I probably will never see again. But I’m mindful that my “public”—God—is “looking down with love,” as the old familiar children’s Bible song says, and I need to be just as careful what my eyes see, my ears hear and my mouth speaks when I go away as I try to be at home.

Comments (1) Aug 04 2010

July 12, 2010

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:6, 7

The newest unit of the National Park Service—number 392—will be dedicated this Saturday, July 17. It’s a fitting date for the ceremony, coming 66 years to the day after the tragic incident the site memorializes.

The American Merchant Marine at War website and the Naval Historical Center tell the story best. The Navy received authorization to construct an ammunition depot on San Francisco Bay just two days after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Port Chicago had been used as a shipyard during World War I, and was served by several railroad lines. Most of the ammunition arrived by train, and was held in boxcars located between protective concrete barriers. When it needed to be loaded on to ships, the train moved to the pier for the transfer. Loading went on around the clock.

The ammo included bullets, depth charges, and bombs (some weighing up to 2,000 pounds), and was moved manually by hand trucks, carts and cargo netting. As you might imagine, the work was extremely dangerous.

The men assigned to this backbreaking labor were African American. The officers were all white, reflecting the racial segregation of the time. All had received some training in cargo handling, but not in loading munitions. Add to that fact the tight deadlines the Navy was under to get the material to the Pacific Theatre of operation, a sense of competition to see who could load the most tonnage in an 8-hour shift, and threats of punishment if the work went too slowly, and it’s little wonder safety standards were often given short shrift.

On July 17, 1944 two merchants ships were being loaded on the pier. One already held about 4,600 tons of munitions. A locomotive and 16 boxcars sat nearby, waiting for their 429 tons of cargo to be transferred to the waiting vessels. At 10:18 p.m. witnesses described a ripping explosion and brilliant white flash, followed by thick smoke, a massive fire, and several smaller explosions that looked like fireworks. Then the heavily loaded ship went off, and the shock wave was felt as far away as Nevada. Pilots flying in a plane at 9,000 feet reported seeing shards of white hot metal as big as houses shoot past them.

All 320 men on duty that night were killed instantly, 202 of them black enlisted men assigned to the dangerous duty. Three hundred and ninety people—military personnel and civilians—were injured, including 233 of the black soldiers.

Less than a month later, the black Naval ordnance battalions were ordered to begin loading munitions again, this time at nearby Mare Island. Two hundred and fifty-eight of them refused, citing continuing safety concerns. All were court-martialed; most “merely” forfeited pay and were given dishonorable discharges, while 50 were sentenced to 8 to 15 years at hard labor. In January 1946, the men received clemency, and in 1999, President Clinton pardoned Freddie Meeks, one of the few still-living members who had received the harshest punishment.

Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial honors the memory of those who gave their lives or were injured in the explosion, recognizes all who served there, and commemorates the role the facility played during World War II. The park also teaches about segregation and civil rights, about learning from past mistakes and making things right.

Clemency. Pardon. These words represent mercy. Those shell-shocked soldiers certainly deserved it. The words also mean freedom, a fresh start. I’m not so sure all the men got that. I can only imagine the mental images and perhaps lingering physical wounds they endured, not to mention the further discrimination they faced in civilian life. Justice is one more concept embodied by those two words. The kind these men achieved was incomplete at best; even a presidential pardon can’t fully erase years of hurt and pain.

I am of course speaking humanly. God’s pardon is much more comprehensive, an all-inclusive deal. He includes it all: mercy (Titus 3:5, 6), freedom (John 8:36), a clean slate (Psalm 103:12) and a fresh start (2 Corinthians 5:17).

And justice? Well, let’s just say that God doesn’t give us what we deserve—separation from Him because of all the wrong things we say and do and think (Romans 3:10-12, 23). About 2,000 years ago, He sent His Son Jesus to take care of that (1 Peter 3:18). And only God has the power to make up for the past (Joel 2:25, Romans 8:28).

If you’ve never experienced the deep peace a pardon from God brings, He invites you to seek Him out for one.

Much better to get one before all hell breaks loose—figuratively and literally…

Comments (2) Jul 12 2010

July 5, 2010

Godliness with contentment is great gain. 1 Timothy 6:6

Many naturalization ceremonies take place around the 4^th of July—perhaps you saw something in your local paper about one near you. In a previous post, I mentioned the very moving ceremony I witnessed while at Homestead National Monument last fall.

Earlier this year, a National Park Ranger was named an Outstanding American by Choice during one such ceremony. This tribute to Kawther Elmi, born in Ethiopia and raised in Somalia, celebrated her accomplishments as a naturalized citizen. She was granted political asylum in 1989, earned two bachelors degrees and a masters in the U.S., and in 2000, joined the National Park Service. Ms. Elmi is currently a park ranger at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and in an online video, she talks about how significant it is for her to work there.

At the ceremony, Ms. Elmi told the new inductees, “I wish for all of you to find meaningful work that not only affords you life’s comforts but also feeds your mind and spirit.”

This is obviously a woman who has seen a great deal of turmoil yet also deep personal fulfillment in her life. She seems very humble, grateful and appreciative for all she has—her secure citizenship, her education and now this award. And her greatest desire for her fellow citizens is that they too would find that same satisfaction.

Contentment. Such a delightful concept—yet so hard to achieve! We humans wear ourselves out chasing after what we think will make us feel secure and happy—wealth, wisdom, power—but the irony is that lasting peace is never found in those things, because they’re fleeting, uncertain and subject to change at any moment (“riding high in April, shot down in May” is how the song “That’s Life” puts it). Real contentment comes from satisfaction with whatever God has given us wherever He’s placed us, and pursuing love, faith, perseverance, gentleness generosity and service to others (1 Timothy 6:6-20). It’s a learning process, the apostle Paul says, worked on through prayer, disciplining the mind, and leaning on the Holy Spirit  (Philippians 4:6-19). The process is ongoing—and lifelong.

Sigh. I sure wish contentment came easier. I’m discontent just thinking about it!

But I look forward to the day when the Outstanding Christian by Choice honors are handed out, that “crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award…not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).

Because that’s when we’ll find final, absolute contentment.

Comments (0) Jul 06 2010

July 1, 2010

O God, restore us, And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. Psalm 80:3

I don’t know about the newspaper in your area, but ours has a box on the front page that counts how many days it’s been since the oil started gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.

As of now the oil is concentrated in the northern Gulf, affecting the Florida panhandle as well as beaches in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. But there’s concern that it will work its way south, and residents of the Florida Keys are worried that the slick will impact one of the area’s most precious marine resources, the coral reefs.

Dry Tortugas National Park, about 70 miles past Key West, is a place to find lots of beautiful coral on display. When Joe and I visited there last year, we swam in the gorgeous blue-green Atlantic, and observed the many colorful varieties of coral in the warm shallows. What a feast for the eyes! We were careful not to touch it, because human bacteria can be fatal to the delicate coral. I’m unhappy to think it could be threatened by the oil spill (keep up to date on the effects at Dry Tortugas and other national parks here).

But of course there’s more to Dry Tortugas than coral. Fort Jefferson is a crumbling, six-sided fort designed to protect the Gulf’s shipping lanes (you can read more about its history and its most famous inhabitant in a previous post, and in an article I wrote which will be in the November issue of Mature Living). Construction began in 1846, but the building became obsolete before it was finished, and Fort Jefferson was never completed.

Time, hurricanes and salt air all have taken their toll on the crumbling garrison, which is why restoration has been going on there for the past 30 years (find information about it here). The economic stimulus bill Congress passed in 2009 set aside $7 million for the project, but according to CNN, experts say at least another $13 million is needed. Asked why all that money is being spent on a place that draws only about 52,000 visitors annually, Kelly Clark, the Park Service employee overseeing the project, says, “If we lose Fort Jefferson, that’s it…There are no other Fort Jeffersons.”

Many of the comments at the end of the CNN article disagree with that assessment. “There has been a huge waste of taxpayer dollars on this site since it was originally built, and it is sad to see it continuing now, when people should know better,” writes a poster. Another complains, “How many years will it take to make that $20 million back? Hopefully before another 150 years or that major hurricane. Welcome to the United States of Wasteful Spending!”

Life can beat us up pretty badly—storms rage within and without, and like Fort Jefferson, time takes its toll on our “fortress,” our body. Sometimes we feel worn out and even obsolete.

But God just keeps pouring Himself into us anyway, lavishing us with His love and spending His endless resources to make us what we were meant to be, His children (1 John 3:1, John 1:12). He sent His Son Jesus to seal the deal when we didn’t deserve it (Romans 5:8).

The three parables in Luke 15 mention a trio of lost things—a sheep, a coin, and a son—and describe how the missing object or person is gone after, or searched and waited for.

The takeaway message is that God’s actively looking for each of us. He’s not willing to let us go to hell, literally or figuratively, in this life or the next (2 Peter 3:9).

There’s only one you, only one me. If you haven’t signed on yet for the “restoration project” God calls salvation, don’t wait.

Delay or indifference could be fatal.

And God doesn’t want to lose you.

Comments (0) Jul 01 2010

June 21, 2010

And I searched for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Ezekiel 22:30

I just came across a copy of a New York Times article about Cumberland Gap National Historical Park that I’d set aside in my “national parks” file. Reading it again, I wracked my brain trying to remember if I ever studied the history behind the important geological formation the park commemorates, which the article’s author describes as “like Ellis Island, an icon in the settling of America.”  The answer, not surprisingly, is no, which is not to say my history teachers were negligent. My mind can retain only so much, and song lyrics, especially from the ‘50s through the ‘70s, take up way too much space.

Anyway, the article enlightened me, and the park’s website gave me more information. The Cumberland Gap is a V-shaped notch in the Cumberland Mountains (part of the Appalachians) near where Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee meet. It was the first great gateway to the West, the only practical way through the Appalachian chain for 100 miles to the north and south. Naturally, Indians used the Gap long before the arrival of whites, who fought with the Native Americans to push their way through. Among them was well-known frontiersman Daniel Boone (Hey, remember the TV show about him, starring Fess Parker? “Daniel Boone was a man, yes a big man. And he fought for America to make all Americans free…” See, I told you I had too many lyrics clogging up the works…)

The French and Indian War halted further exploration of the Gap for a while, but after it was over, hunters again roamed the area. In 1773, surveying parties began arriving. Boone, employed by a land speculation company, helped blaze a trail through the Gap and later led families over it to the West.

The trickle of settlers eventually became a torrent. Estimates are that 200,000 to 300,000 people traveled through the Gap between 1775 and 1810, especially after the trail was widened to accommodate wagons and cattle drives. During the Civil War, Union and Confederate forces fought over control of the strategic location. Toward the end of the century, there were attempts to mine the area’s resources, but eventually the land became desolate and neglected, until a highway was built through it.

The Cumberland Gap National Historical Park was dedicated on July 4, 1959 and, following the completion of a tunnel for traffic, an approximation of the original pioneer route was established. In addition to the trail, the park offers cascading waterfalls, lush forests, miles of other walking paths, tours of limestone caves, and a panoramic view of the three states the park covers.

One other feature noted in the Times’ article is in the visitor center, where quotations from those who trekked through the Gap are hung on banners.  Because most of the people passed through anonymously, the words are culled from stories passed down in their families. The information comes from a form visitors can fill out. A park ranger told the article’s author that the “List of Ancestors” database was begun “after many years of seeing stories walk out of the visitor center unrecorded.”

In Ezekiel 22, God warns the Israelites about the judgment that would surely come if they persisted in their sins. The chapter includes a catalog of the people’s many wrongdoings (including injustice, murder, theft, and profaning the Lord), and the inevitable conclusion. God sought in vain for someone to stem the tide, to “stand in the gap” and halt the rush of people racing toward ruin. But in one of the saddest lines in Scripture, He says, “I found no one.”

Will you and I be that someone today? In our families? In our communities? In our nation? I know what you’re thinking: I’m just one person! I put up the same argument. But you know what? God was only looking for one person. One person can pray, one person can do what’s right, one person can see something and say something, as the current catchphrase goes.

If you’re willing to take the challenge, be sure to keep a record. That’s what my grandmother did, as I wrote in a previous post. I’m incredibly blessed to have the evidence. Yes, write out your prayer lists (and answers) and keep your journals, so that those who come after you may be roused to similar action by the story of how you stood in the gap for them.

Comments (1) Jun 23 2010

June 13, 2010

Rescue those being led away to death: hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not He who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not He who guards your life know it? Will He not repay each person according to what he has done? Proverbs 24:11 & 12

While I was at Gateway National Recreation Area recently doing research for an article, I took in the exhibit about the U.S. Life-Saving Service (USLSS). The men of the USLSS patrolled our nation’s coasts from 1871 to 1914 (after which the organization folded into the Coast Guard), continually on the lookout for ships in peril.

Life-saving stations were situated every 3-5 miles apart at various points along the shore—here on the Eastern Seaboard, they stretched from Maine to North Carolina. Sandy Hook, where Gateway is located, was one of the first stations because of its proximity to busy New York harbor and its dangerous shoals (Cape Lookout National Seashore was another USLSS site).

Four beach patrols went out every night, no matter what the weather. The surfmen, as these watchers were called, hoisted lanterns high, scanning the dark ocean for signs of trouble, their ears attuned to faint cries of distress. During the day, they drilled endlessly. As you might imagine, it was strenuous and dangerous work. In fact, the unofficial surfman motto was, “You have to go out, but you do not have to come back”.

Did these men hope and pray nothing ever happened during their watch? Possibly. Did any ever hesitate before plunging into the roiling surf on a cold, pitch-black night? Undoubtedly. It’s one thing to do your duty, quite another to realize you might lose your own life in doing so.

But I also imagine their constant drills enabled them to operate on instinct, so that it was almost second nature to hop into the boat and head out to sea in times of crisis. Their job was to rescue people. They probably got to the point where they didn’t think about what they had to do—they just did it, because that’s what they’d been trained to do.

So often we Christians forget that outside our “holy huddles” of church, Bible study and similar fellowships, there are floundering people who don’t know rescue is available. We—and you’d better believe I’m including myself here—douse our lights and close our ears to their cries. Occasionally we extend a helping hand, but wading out into the surf? That’s time-consuming, difficult and scary! In our half-hearted attempts or disregard, though, we neglect the responsibility God has given to each one of us who has “hired on” to serve Him. Standing safely on the shore and claiming ignorance doesn’t cut it either.

Rescue takes commitment. For a Christian, that means serious study of Scripture, thought and prayer. We have to ask ourselves: What’s my duty to the poor and the hurting? How do I live it out?  And how do I minister to others and still keep my own head above water, so to speak?

Martyrs are what we call people who go out in Christ’s name and lose their lives in the process. We admire them—but we sure don’t want to share their fate! Yet just as the surfmen acknowledged, the duty to go must exist side by the side with the willingness to give all, in order to effectively serve.

And then it’s practice, practice, practice!

An uncomfortable subject? You bet. I’m still considering how it specifically works out in my life. But as I watch the news, read the newspaper and move among the tide of humanity I encounter every day, I remind myself to pay attention, to look for and listen to those who could use a lifeline, who need to be introduced to the perfect Rescuer, who “delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Colossians 1:13), the only One who’s able to bring us safely home (2 Timothy 4:18).

Comments (1) Jun 17 2010