We just returned from wandering up north in Indiana and Michigan traveling to Amish country around Shipshewana and then to Holland, Michigan for the annual Tulip Festival. We also spent a night at Pokagon State Park - such a beautiful place where we wished we had spent more time.
The Amish way of life and the devotion in Holland to their Dutch tradition seems to point to people who know what they are about and who they are, proud of their tradition. The parade we watched, though mundane, had many local bands including those made up entirely of 6th graders. This says something of their commitment to music in those areas with relatively small cities but high school bands of over 100 students. It was refreshing to see the streets lined with families - lots of children - to watch the parade that really had nothing spectaular or showy included.
We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast in Middlebury hosted by two people who were devoted to sharing their faith journey through hospitality and in story telling with their guests. We enjoyed the stories of not only guests who came to the inn, but of their encountering of God in their lives.
Where do I share my story with people? How does being a pastor - never taking off my mantle - affect my relationships and relaxation in such settings? What is so difficult about being "laid back"? What am I seeking that the Amish and people who seem to know what they want and are doing it impress me so?
The whole area along the Michigan shoreline was a vacation paradise for many homes lined the shore and the cities were clean and filled with shops. Although we did not stay long enough for a reality check, what we did see made me wonder why it is such a struggle for some places to find a sense of identity - or that found it in the business that was there so much that when it left, the whole town became lost. How do we find a new sense of identity based on something richer and more solid than industry that comes and goes?
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