Journey to the Far East / Journey to the World: 30th Anniversary Road Trip

On June 8, Mark & I reached our 30th anniversary. When we tell people that we have been married for 30 years, many people express amazement. To us, it's not that unusual. We married for life, till death do us part. Both sets of our parents reached more than 50 years of marriage. Our siblings have all committed to a lifelong marriage. However, reflecting over the many years, we are reminded that marriage is a commitment to covenantal vows before God and witnesses. We really have experienced the vows we made those years ago - in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, for better or for worse. Life is up and down; emotions are often roller coaster rides; every day is mostly mundane and not exciting. However, we cling to the Rock of our Salvation. We stand on a Firm Foundation. We committed a long time ago before God and we plan to keep that commitment with His grace and help. And believe me, we need God's grace and help.

Due to wedding preparations, we delayed celebrating until after James' & Amy's wedding. On the Wednesday after, Mark & I took off for an anniversary road trip to Cumberland Gap National Historic Park in KY/TN/VA. We stayed at a bed & breakfast in Middlesborough, KY, a little town just inside the border of KY. We left the computers and smart phones behind to become unplugged. It was nice to not have technology invading our lives for a day or two. We wandered around the little towns of the Appalachian hollows, toured a cave under the Gap, walked along the Wilderness Trail in the park, and watched the sunset at the Tri-State point where the three states come together. We imagined what it was like for the frontiersmen and pioneers to explore a gap in the Appalachian Mountains to cross over them and what it was like to make the journey along the trails to a better life. Our ancestors surely made that journey. In addition, we took an afternoon nap each day, not realizing how tired we were. We slept an hour to an hour and a half two days in a row. Restful. On the way home, we drove parallel to the Appalachians for several miles before picking up I-26 in Kingsport TN. Although we have driven on the Blue Ridge Parkway and through the Shenandoah Valley on I-81, I’m not sure I have paralleled the mountains like we did. Those mountains go on and on forever. Mile after mile, peak after peak, tree after tree, valley after valley. I tried to imagine what the pioneers thought when they saw them. It reminds me of the children’s song entitled “Going on a Bear Hunt” with the lyrics: “Can't go over it, Can't go under it, Can't go around it, Got to go through it .” Thus the Cumberland Gap. We did have a peaceful, restful break.