DAY ONE: Getting on the Road

Have you ever tried to leave your house for a month? It is not as easy as it seems. Plants to water. A refrigerator to empty. Clothes to pack. Garbage to collect and find a home for. My getting out of town at 9:00 am soon became 11:00 by the time everthing was done and a quick stop in at work. First stop......

ANTIETAM BATTLEFIELD......Sharpsville, Maryland

I always feel like I am walking on sacred ground when I go on a Civil War Battlefield. Almost 150 years later the place still seems alive to me with men and horses and cannon and shot. Having been a guide at Gettysburg years ago, I have always held a fascination for these places, yet as many times as I had driven past it on my way to Washington, D.C. I had never stopped at Antietam, just off of I-70. And on the heels of the Memorial Day weekend it was a great place to start. Antietam was the place of the most single day casualties in the history of the United States, with over 25,000 soldiers, Union and Confederate, wounded or killed. One four acre section saw one person shot every second for four hours. Imagine that. Every second for four hours. I am struck by the courage and commitment to duty of these men.....and young men....and boys. The youngest person being only twelve years old.

If you ever do stop here, take the time to listen to the Park Ranger give his historical narrative of the battle. What a wonderful job he does setting the battle in the context of the larger struggle, detailing the battle, and then laying out the ramifications both practically and politically. Truly an excellent job on his part and not to be missed.

The drive to the outskirts of Washington D.C where I was staying was uneventful and not bad at all considering that  it was rush hour. After a good dinner of turkey and mashed potatoes (I know, I am going to have a hard time losing those 15 pounds with that dinner) I took a night drive into the city to see the Memorials at night. Again, to me, they almost seem like holy ground as the stone and alabaster and marble is illuminated by the night lights. Washington. Jefferson. Lincoln. The World War II Memorial. The sacrifices of so many. Today was a time of reflection and thanks for the many blessings that I have been given. A great way to start my adventure.  I hope that I never take those blessings and all that I have been given for granted.

From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another......John 1:16