HOPE Chapel

I came back from a recent vacation, having had the privilege of traveling to South America for a couple of weeks.  During that time, my family and I had the chance to visit and see some amazing different places.  We spent time in the Amazon jungle, hiked Inca ruins in the Andes mountains, and walked around some the more magnificant parts of some large cities to visit museums, cathedrals, etc.

I noticed that, like many countries, they do not have the same tools and infrastructure that we have available to us in the USA.  You cannot send a letter to people in the Amazon - they have no address and no real way to effectively receive packages or letters.  The people in the mountain in some cases only have access by train or walking, making it difficult to get things to them.  Roads are more conjested, transportation is slower, and you might find it hard to communicate.

But that was the interesting part.  No matter where you went or who you saw, someone was still talking on a cell phone.  Even though you cannot send things to the jungle, you could check your email or Facebook every day through the wonder of satellite.  When we were hiking at 9000 ft elevation in the middle of the mountains, our guide's cell phone rang and he was talking to someone he knew.  It's amazing.  We are now in a world that keeps us connected no matter where we go or what we do.

Now, while I'm not sure I like that (especially while on vacation), it did remind me that we have a God who is even more available than any technology.  There is no where we can go where he is out of range.  There is nothing we can do to shut him down.  He is everywhere, all the time, waiting and ready to talk to us, encourage us, and to be our friend.  With a God who so wants us to call him all the time, it is such a shame that we so often make ourselves "out of range" of Him.  I came back from vacation with a renewed determination and enthusiasm for daily keeping connected with the creator of the universe and me.  As you go through your summer, and take well deserved time off from work, just don't take time off from God.