This past weekend, my wife and I took a road trip to visit family in Virginia. It was nice to have a long conversation on the journey – enjoying different meals and seeing new things. A few miles on the way back through the mountains, we stopped by a country store and farm to table restaurant. Later, we learned it was owned by a famous writer. Interestingly, the road trip helped us to experience home in a fresh, vibrant way.
On a journey, we can feel the vitality of life. Knowing that “who we are” is not what we “tell” people, but rather how we live and move through the day. The apostle Paul let us know the people of Antioch were the first to be called Christians. Before, these folks were known as “people of the way,” (Acts 9:2). How we talk and laugh, how we treat others, and how we respond to how they treat us is who we are.
We invite you to learn about your home, and who you are as a caregiver, by taking a trip to Davidson, NC, for the Clergy Program. It is a beautiful college town, surrounded by lake. Here, you will meet other people of the way. Some are fellow travelers, who have felt similar roadblocks. Their joys and tears will be familiar. You will meet local consultants who will help you learn better paths to exercise and nutrition. Others are skilled in prayer and spiritual disciplines. They will help you remember why you began the journey in the first place. Pastoral counselors and consultants give trail markers teaching you how to heal and rest. You will return home and experience it as a stronger person, and hopefully see your own surroundings in a new way.