On The Road This Summer, Sages?

The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see. –G.K. Chesterton

Last year, my husband and I took a Viking river cruise up the Rhine in Europe to celebrate our 45th anniversary. This sort of trip by definition is a tourist experience. But only when we arrived home and reflected on the trip did I realize I purchased almost no souvenirs other than a handful of small bookmarks purchased at a cathedral gift shop and a couple of excellent candy bars to share with neighbors. Our focus was grabbing every opportunity we could to steal away from the group and simply wander the streets of the towns and cities in which we stopped. That was my favorite part of the trip. I think Chesterton would have said we managed to tuck some traveling into our tourism.

Are you traveling this summer? You’ll appreciate Sage contributor Rachel Campbell’s insights about the different kinds of travel each one of us may experience, as well as ways in which our journeys can form and orient our souls. If health woes, family responsibilities, or financial limitations mean you’re not able to travel during this season of your life, Rachel’s words carry encouragement for you, too.

And one more journey-related resource for you, readers! Sage contributor Sharla Fritz has a new book out entitled Divine Directions: How God Guides Your Path. Sharla is giving away a copy of this book to two of our readers. Info about how to enter this drawing is at the bottom of this newsletter.

If travel is on the agenda for you this summer, click the “Leave a comment” button and tell us where you’re hoping to go.

Journeying with you, Sages,

Michelle Van Loon for the entire Sage Forum team

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For the Journey

by Rachel Campbell

If you were to close your eyes where would the mention of travel take you? To a beach? To a lofty view, a tranquil meadow or even a bustling city? Travel is an alluring word that offers us something different, a privileged escape from the humdrum. Travel invites exploration and offers rest. Travel is often a hinge upon which we hang our year, something we save for and schedule. Travel even helps define us as people.

Not that all travel is as beneficial as a yearned-for vacation. We need to acknowledge that for the pilgrim, travel is act of obedience. For the commuter, travel speaks of congestion, of crowded carriages, early mornings and late evenings. And for the refugee in our conflict-saturated world, travel is the search for survival itself.

Some travel to pursue an education. My husband Grant did just that leaving his native New Zealand to come to study here in the UK, which is perhaps why travel seems to be in the DNA of our marriage. And, with an emptying nest we now have the freedom (if not always the finances!) to travel. So, freedom-empowered we chose to celebrate our January birthdays by escaping the deep freeze of an English Winter for a few days in the sunny Canary Islands. The notion of travel instead of a gift appealed to one of our daughters, and she and I spent the few days leading up to her March birthday in her favorite city of Paris.

How wonderful, you may be tempted to think! But life is rarely quite what it seems, and between these two trips, loss visited us again. In February, just a few months after losing my own Mum, my mother-in-law, Judy, also passed away. Now, while my Mum lived just an hour away from us, Judy lived on the South Island of New Zealand, about as far away as you can get. Suddenly we were jolted into complex and expensive travel arrangements to attend her funeral. But, with bereavement leave granted and a family friend’s offer of accommodation, we boarded our very long-haul flights.

A funeral remembers a life and acknowledges life’s final separation. Though sad, Judy’s funeral reunited us as a family as we congregated from far and wide, the first time my husband and his siblings have been together since 2008. Our togetherness flowed into preparations for our niece’s wedding a couple of days later, my first New Zealand family wedding.

Exodus and rest. A funeral and a wedding. Separation and reunion. These are the potent reasons why we travel, and it should be no surprise that the Bible is replete with such narratives, weaving epic tales of exodus and exile with the stories of individual journeys. Individual journeys such as that of Abraham, who was called to exchange the settlement of Haran for a nomadic life, and of Paul, who was called to be a perpetual missionary. Scripture also tells of refugees, like Hagar, Jacob and his family, and Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus. Then there are memorable stories of separation and reunion–Jacob and Joseph, Onesimus and Philemon, and the Prodigal reunited with the father who ran to embrace him. In that embrace we see the character of our God of infinite welcome who longs to be reunited with those, who as the hymnist puts it, have “wandered from the fold of God”.

That reunion of the Father and His runaway child is brought about by the greatest biblical travel story of all, as Christ, the Darling of Heaven, leaves glory to live as One who “had nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). Then, in the agony of the cross as Christ is severed from His Father, He enacts the greatest reunion of all time – God with His people, the Bridegroom with His bride. And the offer of reunion becomes the reward for Christ’s separation.

But, as we await that glorious reunion, how are we to journey in the now-and-not-yet meantime?

And the answer is we are to live as pilgrims, travelling through a sometimes hostile and challenging land, keeping on keeping on, one step at a time until we reach that final, glorious destination.

In the two weeks before Easter, accompanied by some of my husband’s family, we fulfilled a long-held ambition to walk the 102 miles of The Cotswold Way. Every day we would get up, pack our lunch, don our walking gear and, poles in hand, walk that day’s section of the Way. Each day took us closer to our final destination in the city of Bath. Wolds are hills and so we faced the challenges of steep slopes and deep valleys. Though the terrain was sometimes tough, our rewards were sunny skies, lovely vistas and beautiful bluebell woods. Each day we would choose a quiet place to eat our packed lunch, and, after rest and sustenance, we would set off again supported by our walking poles. What a reminder of David’s words in Psalm 23:

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside quiet waters,

He refreshes my soul.

And what a picture of this pilgrim life, as one step at a time, up hills and down valleys, we travel towards our destination, sustained by God’s Spirit, supported by His Word, and maybe, just maybe, rested on our journey homeward through an occasional vacation!

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What are favorite trips of some of our Sage Forum contributors?

If you know me, you know the place on earth I most long to be is Israel. (The picture above is of my husband Bill and I at the Western Wall in Jerusalem in 2012.) Bill was on the board of a discipleship ministry based in Jerusalem, and we had the opportunity to visit the land 8 times over a period of 9 years. We were planning a trip departing from the US on October 8, 2023, but cancelled at the last minute as the the horror of the Hamas attack and ensuing war unfolded the day before we were slated to leave. We monitor events there very closely, and hope to return soon, Lord willing. –Michelle Van Loon

Growing up and later with my children, our preferred summer vacation spot was the coast of Maine, especially Mount Desert Island and Schoodic Point. Climbing bare rocks, huddled against the wind in my hooded jacket, soaking up the solitude in this wild, remote place. In comparison, Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, where my husband and I live now, are lush, not so remote or wild, but just as wondrous for soaking up the glory of God's creation.–Carole Duff

We’ve been fortunate to travel to several wonderful spots. I think my favorite was a Mediterranean cruise that we took for our 25^th wedding anniversary. It was 12 days of beauty, hiking, eating long lunches and enjoying sights and scenery. I also loved a trip to Sweden with our kids and my parents. My grandfather came to the US from Sweden and my parents have kept in touch with family there, so we stayed with my second cousin and their hospitality was not to be matched. We were there over midsummer, which was a treat, and we all had a fabulous time. We’ve enjoyed trips to New Zealand, Brazil, Israel and took many a road trip in the US with our kids over the years. There’s so much to see in this country and I think I take it for granted sometimes. –Judy Allen

Last fall, my husband and I had the awesome opportunity to travel to New Zealand. We came away awed by its natural beauty. From the Lord of the Rings Shire and Cathedral Cove in the North Island to Milford Sound and Mount Cook in the South Island, every day was filled with oohs and aahs at the incredible sights. God went all out when He created New Zealand! –Sharla Fritz

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Enter to win Sharla’s Divine Directions!

Through an examination of eight journeys in the Bible, this women's Bible study will show readers how God guides us through the mountains and valleys of life through His Word and constant presence. This Bible study includes discussion questions, answers, maps, and other features. Study it on your own or go through it with a group.

Sharla is giving away copies of this book to two readers (U.S. addresses only). Click the link below to send us your name and mailing address before midnight (Eastern time) on Monday, June 9th.

Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.―Terry Pratchett

Photos by Vidar Nordli Mathias and Denise Jans on Unsplash

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