Ark Encounter

One of my favorite memories this summer was when a few of my siblings and a couple of nieces took a trip to Kentucky to see this lovely attraction:

And visit these amazing people:

Our day began with spending hours trying to get a locked vehicle open, so we could get the registration to take to a locksmith to have new keys made, so we could actually drive it. Yeah. It’s quite a story. Thankfully, an officer happened along to help us. He was an answer to prayer.

There were LOOONG lines of people at the Ark Encounter:

And with so much walking: four flours 300 cubits long–that’s almost the length of two football fields–we were exhausted by the end of the day.

My favorite part of the trip? Spending time with Christian friends and feeling our friendship grow. Their testimony, their laughter, and their love encouraged and uplifted me, made me think: “That’s the kind of person I want to be.”

Just spending time with them encouraged me to stay faithful to the simple principles of the Word.

Sometimes I’ve felt I was standing on the edge of a precipice, a thousand voices clamoring in my ear, while something precious–something I could never replace–slipped from my fingertips.

“Don’t you ever get tired of standing for God, when there are so few people left who do?” I asked Dad once. “Don’t you think it’s hard?”

He laughed at me. “No,” he said. “It’s not hard. With Noah, there was only one.”

I know there are many in the world who stand for God–and nothing encourages me more than to meet them and to spend time with them–but when I get discouraged and feel there are few, I like to remember that conversation with Dad. Remember the assurance in his eyes.

One is all you need, if you have God.