Sometimes I get on Pinterest and see those inspirational travel
quotes. I think you know what I’m talking about. They have the cool typography,
Instgram quality picture of a road with mountains or a well-weathered map, and belong
to the Wanderlust board that we all
have on our profile. Travel excites. The thought of seeing a different part of
the world and experiencing something life changing moves people to leave what
they know and endure certain discomforts or unknowns so that they might
discover something extraordinary.
Three years ago my Granny was very sick and coming to the end
of her marvelous life. All of my mom’s family returned to the homestead in
Murray County, Georgia and spend a week together sharing time with each other
and my Granny knowing that these were our last moments of our family as we had
known it for so many decades. During this week my cousins and I spent some time
going through some old pictures together. My grandparents have this huge trunk
in their den that is overflowing with pictures from years and years of family
memories. There are enough embarrassing images in that trunk to run off all the
unwanted boyfriends that have tried to steal away my cousins and I. I already
have photos set aside to show the first girl that my brother brings to
Christmas; it’s only then that we will truly know if she loves him or not.
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| Ok, he might be too cute to keep the girls away... |
While going through these gems three years ago I found a
picture of my Granny when she was just a teenager standing in front of a bus
headed to Miami. Once she arrived in Miami she paid $78 for an airline ticket
to Cuba. I fell in love with that picture. I remember being a little girl and
my Granny showing me the airline ticket and telling me about how grown up she
felt going all the way to Cuba on her own and how other girls her age were too
scared to do it, but not her. She wanted to see the world. It was then that I
decided that my 5 foot, biscuit-making, pastor’s wife Granny was the ideal
woman. She was a real pioneer; a revolutionary. I wanted to be this woman. It
was that moment in her guest bedroom as a 7 or 8 year old girl that I decided I
was going to travel and see the world and love it just like she did.
This new wanderlust
was consuming my thoughts at all times. I would make lists of countries that I
wanted to see, plan out how to see all 50 states before I was 35, save maps of
places that I had never been before…I was a goner. But thankfully my Granny
didn’t just inspire me to travel; she inspired me to love. Travel is a
beautiful and wonderful thing. It can reveal a lot about yourself and I believe
God did create this world to be admired and enjoyed. His presence is declared
and revealed in creation. As I have lived here in Uganda I have seen so many
beautiful things and discovered so much about myself in the process, but the
real joys have come from the relationships that have been built and the people
that I have come in contact with. Those are the most beautiful and complex of
God’s creation. Travel the world, expand your horizons, go beyond what you
know, and love people along the way. What a waste it would be to see the world
and miss God’s most prized possession throughout the journey.
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| Gearing up for my trip to the Dominican Republic back in 2006....Granny was right there to see me off. |
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| I sure do miss her, but I'm so thankful for everything she left behind. |
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