I went in search of America this summer. I wanted to find the places that existed in my mind’s eye; the places that I had always read about and seen in movies. For over 20 years, I have had the romantic notion to drive to the west coast on old Route 66. I love cars and music and road trips, and so it seemed a quintessential way to experience a piece of American automobile history that has been so lauded by musicians. My sweet family, who also loves Americana and kitschy roadside attractions, was on board with this hare-brained endeavor, and so we set out on our whirlwind nine-day journey from Chicago to Los Angeles.

We saw so many amazing sights and had such interesting experiences along our route. We also visited some national parks, monuments and historical sites; viewing petroglyphs, petrified wood and pueblos whose age is measured in the thousands of years was humbling.

*Gary’s Gay Parita; A 1930s Sinclair filling station turned Route 66 museum in Ash Grove, Missouri.*

I’ve been asked quite a few times what the best part of the trip was for me, and I can definitely say that it was the sense of adventure – not knowing what would be around the next turn. What beautifully restored filling station might we see? What crazy giant muffler man or roadside attraction? Would the bridge be out and cause us to drive up a dirt road past an adorable baby goat climbing a forked tree?

Reflecting on the trip, I think about the prayer that we prayed along our journey. “Lord, let us see with your eyes.” This prayer was answered again and again in the people we met. The hotel owner at the Wagon Wheel in Cuba, MO, is struggling to keep a mom-and-pop enterprise going until the 100th anniversary of Route 66 next year. I think of the old man who has been selling beautiful native crafted silver jewelry in Arizona and needed my help with the credit card machine in his store. I think of the prayer we prayed with the restaurant owner along Route 66 who put everything he had into making a go of it (except installing video gambling machines) who would be closing his doors at the end of June. I think about the staff at the roadside souvenir shops, the hotels, the restaurants whose logos included Bible verses and most of all, the other travelers that we encountered. All of these people were welcoming and kind. They were open books with their lives and experiences and were in search of the same intangibles that my little family was. The lyrics of Simon and Garfunkel’s song “America” kept floating through my mind on the trip. “…they’ve all come to look for America.”

*Centennial Land Run Monument in Oklahoma City*

If it is true that people are a product of the land, then our America is welcoming, warm and a little weird and wacky!

The journey along the historic “Mother Road” this summer reminded me that we’re all just travelers. We are looking around the next bend for excitement, waiting to see what obstacle or opportunity will present itself and finding a community along the way.

God has placed eternity in our hearts, and just as I went off in search of America this summer, we all set out in search of our eternal home.

Will your journey end in the presence of Jesus?

”For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 2 Corinthians 5:1

As Augustine famously said, “Our heart is restless until it rests in You.”

ABOUT OUR BLOGGER

Sarah Flowers lives in idyllic Chadds Ford, where she is steeped in beauty and connection to the land and its history. She loves coffee and flowers and getting to know Jesus. A lifelong learner, she seeks to follow God’s plan to bring hope to His children. Sarah is a self-declared serial optimist and melodiphile; there’s always a path to the sunny side and a soundtrack for the journey! She is a mom and wife and a grateful alumna of Northwood University. Her former iterations include automotive professional and shoe diva. Sarah is one of the co-hosts of the podcast Trustworthy and is “most likely to ride bikes in the woods!”