The journeys to the Smokey Mountains began when I was seven years old. A Florida family with a Rambler Station Wagon loaded to the top, complete with luggage carrier, headed to mountains of North Carolina. As kids, we looked forward to that vacation like we looked forward to Christmas!

Those were the days when driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway meant “bear jams” and everybody stopping and getting out of their cars to feed the bears. It was so exciting and funny thing, no one got hurt. It also was a time for family picnics on a rock out-cropping that gave a breath-taking view of endless azure misty mountain tops, thus the name “Smokey.”

The smell of the forest, the huge trees and craggy trails, the sound of the birds, and the beauty of the vista that filled your eyes, this was a great American treasure, this was enjoying one of the great American National Parks.

In the years that followed in my married life, my husband and I continued the tradition with our own daughter, trekking to the Smokies summer & fall, establishing with her the love we had for what God created in mountain majesty.

For all of us, my parents, sisters, husband and child, we all found sacred space on those journeys. Each of us attuned to something uniquely natural and spiritually fulfilling in the morning mists, the movement of wildlife or the setting sun over the mountain tops. None of us ever left unchanged. Creation spoke to each of us about a loving God who created with unestimable power and care…who yearned to touch our hearts with this loving environment!

If there is anything I can say about the importance of our National Parks, it is to say that God can be found in them….EVERYWHERE! They are sacred spaces that will continue to inspire and enliven the spiritual lives of families as long as we continue to support their care and protection.

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