...so that...

When our first National Park, Yellowstone in Wyoming, was established back in 1872 by congress and President Grant, it was done so with recognition that these amazing and beautiful places are an incredible blessing for our country and the world, and that these blessings must be celebrated and protected so that they can be passed on and celebrated by future generations.

As we as a family prepare to begin our summer journey to visit the great National Parks of our country, we recognize that we are receiving a wonderful blessing that will impact each of us for the rest of our lives.  We will always remember this trip!  We know that not everyone gets this opportunity, even if they desperately want it...time off from employment...financial resources...it simply isn't easy to make it happen.  We do recognize just how blessed we are to have this opportunity, and so in response, we want to make sure that we are a blessing to others along the way as we experience this journey.

Psalm 67 says: "May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine on us - so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations."  It is so easy to think of blessings as "for us", when in reality we receive blessings in our lives so that we can in turn shine the light of Christ into the darkness of the world.  As we have reflected on the blessing of our adventure this summer, we feel the responsibility of those two small words: so that...and we pray that as we receive the blessing of Parks with a Purpose, that Parks with a Purpose might be a blessing to others in a way that reveals God's love for them and this world.