I don't have much desire to leave the country. I think it's a fear. If I ever stepped out, would they let me back in? I have no desire to even see Hawaii. Maybe it's the long flight? There are two places I have a deep desire to see. One is Jerusalem and the other is Australia. I would suffer through a long flight for these two places. I don't know a lot about Australia, because when I read about it, the desire to go there grows and I decided a long time ago I will probably never see it.
When I lived in Texas, a friend of mine had heard about Washington. His mother had been here and he always had a curiosity about it. Kevon could read about Washington, just like I could read about Australia. We could learn all the facts if we decided to. The information is out there. But one year as I planned to travel to Washington for Christmas, I invited Kevon to come with. The first thing he did was buy chains for his truck. He made this decision by what he had learned about the state. Of course the Texans at the parts store looked at him funny and informed him they would have to be ordered. These were not a stock item. As Kevon stressed about the possibility of snow, I laughed. I was familiar with snow and knew we would be fine.
We spent a lot of time driving around as I showed him places I had lived, lakes, mountains, and other beautiful scenery that only Washington can offer. It was fun to watch him experience the smells, the sounds and the sights. After I moved home to Washington, Kevon came to visit. He was as excited to see the state as he was to see me. We watched eagles (Not the band, but the real deal) and drove to the beach. My sister and I took him for lunch on the other side of the Cascade Mountains, stopping several times to take in the view.
Kevon knows more about Washington since he has experienced it himself. His appreciation for the state has given me a deeper desire to travel to Australia and Jerusalem. I could tell him about Washington and give him books to read, but nothing gave him the experience and knowledge of being in Washington himself.
I was curious why God brought this to my attention today, but He soon revealed the truth in it. Then as I listened to a CD by Graham Cooke he talked about the same thing. God does this to me and it's amazing every time. We can read the Bible and learn all the scriptures, memorize the verses and know about God. We can have knowledge of Him, but to truly know Him, we have to have an encounter and experience His presence and voice. For years, I was content to know about Him and even then didn't know much. There was fear in getting to know Him, just like Kevon had a fear of the snow. What would the experience be? Would we crash and burn? Would I fail? Like a trip to a new place, we stumble around not knowing where to go or how to get there, but as long as we keep moving forward, through snow, wind or enemy resistance, once you step into His presence there is nothing like it. It's not something you can experience through another's stories or even a book. But now when Kevon reads a book about Washington, he has some knowledge to put with it. "I was there once. I saw that same thing. I didn't get a chance to go there, I will go there in the future." The biggest difference I see, is once you've been in Christ you don't ever want to leave, but I can't seem to convince Kevon to move to Washington. Knowledge is moving what you know in your head, down into your heart.
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