Fifty days, 9676 miles, 23 states, seven national parks – an amazing journey as we celebrated our 50th anniversary with this 50-day trip. We have been blessed with unbelievably good weather – only one episode of rain while driving as we made our way across the panhandle of Texas and one hailstorm while stopped and set up at one of our many camping locations. We have seen so many beautiful sights as we have witnessed the changing terrain across our great nation. For us, it has truly been a trip of a lifetime.

Again I would like to thank all those who have followed along with us through the pictures I have posted on Facebook, and through the blog posts I have published over these seven weeks of travel. You have truly blessed us as you have “liked” and made comments of my photography. Teresa and I will have all these pictures to look back on in time to come, and through those pictures be able to relive, to some degree, these days of travel.

We have traveled across some of the flattest land imaginable in the states of Wyoming, Montana, North and South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota. We have seen the towering mountains of Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, and the lush rolling mountains of West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. And, so very much more.

As I think about what we have seen, I am also reminded of people we have met. I have introduced you to several of these in previous posts. People from all walks of life, from all parts of the globe, speaking many different languages, their skin tinted with different shades of brown, white, yellow, black, and red.

All this reminds me of what an awesome God we serve! There is such diversity in every aspect of His majestic creation, and yet, at the same time, there is such amazing consistency. There are stark changes in the terrain as one crosses from one region of the country to another. For example, consider this picture of the flowing sand dunes of the Great Sand Dunes National Park, with the towering Rocky Mountains looming just behind.

And yet, in the midst of all this diversity we see the amazing consistency with which it remains the same. When we gaze into the heavens on a star-lit night, we see stars that have been, and continue to be, in a locked pattern in the skies. When Teresa and I gazed into the depths of the Grand Canyon, we saw what evolutionists describe as a marvel which has been millions, if not billions of years in the making. But for the one who holds to the Biblical account in Genesis, he sees a marvel of God’s creative activity.

Consistency. Things remain the same. Yes, the earth has gone through periods of change, but in the broad spectrum of things, it has remained consistent. Let me close by making one final observation. As mentioned earlier in this post, we have met many people, from many places, with many observable differences, such as skin color, language spoken, cultural distinctions, etc., but in all of my observations I have noticed only two biological sexes – male and female. I have never seen an “other”. Biologically, we are all born either man, or woman. There is a consistency to God’s creation.

When Teresa and I visited the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, KY, and saw the representation of animal life on the ark, I was reminded of the diversity of species of animals, but I also witnessed the amazing consistency of those species of animals from then until now. A dog then is the same as a dog now. A cat cannot choose to be something other than a cat – it is what it is. And in the cat family, a cat will always be a cat. And, remarkably, God instructed Noah to take a pair, male and female, of each animal for the purpose of procreation. Had Noah decided to take a pair of males or a pair of females, then, well, that particular animal would no longer exist. It takes a male and a female to keep the species going.

I have said in many previous blog posts that I respect anyone’s right to choose whatever lifestyle they desire, but I also have suggested that we all accept the fact that we were born as a male, or a female. We should not try to come up with an alternate explanation for our personal preferences and desires by insisting that we are an aberration to the natural birth assignment of our sexuality.

Instead, let’s all praise the God of all creation for His amazing work of diversity in the midst of His continual work of consistency. The Apostle Paul says something very interesting concerning this matter. I will close with this quote from his letter to the Colossians.

For by Him [Jesus Christ] all things were created that are in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

Colossians 1:16-17, NKJV (emphasis added)

Thanks for reading! Until next time…

Blessings!