Day 6 – Search and Find

What can you find when you don’t have to drive directly to or from somewhere? A whole lot!

I started out in the direction of Merritt Pecan Co. How often can you find a pecan company with the same name as your son? A first time for me.

After buying the t-shirt and cap and sweet treats to bring home to the family, the journey continued.

Back roads towards a State Park blessed me with more history finds and a great lunch in Lumpkin. The lunch spot photo might make you laugh.

Churches and cemeteries and memorial plaques dot the hillsides. Note the dates.

Hiking in Providence Canyon State Park was pretty awesome. They name it as the little Grand Canyon of the south, but I think that is a huge overstatement. These canyons were formed due to flash flooding that happened over time due to the tilling of all the farm soil. With no where for the water to go, it kept eroding and washing away and revealing the beautiful rich red color and sediment. A very refreshing 4 mile hike.

Tonight I got to hear the story of Spence Braden (a Grace member) and his brother Keith, as they shared about their mom who served as the director of Koinonia years ago. She gave her life to helping others and did so until she passed away in a flash flood here in GA in the 1990’s. They took time today tending to her gravesite and honoring her memory.

It is very humbling to read and reflect on the passage of time, especially doing so when driving by a cemetery plot every 5 miles or so. Seeing old towns that still exist but do so with 80 percent of buildings closed up or falling down. Churches standing – most well kept and some not so much – but with doors open to keep sharing the story of Jesus over time. Every conversation with folks, all still with their joy and gratitude for the gift of life. All trying to make their way. Getting up, putting their jeans on, and doing what they can with what they got. Another step in the right direction.

What can you get when you go Lumpkin around? Go search and I promise you will find.