Make a Way Through the Desert
Illustration
Stories
Contents
"Make a Way Through the Desert" by Frank Ramirez
"Preparing the Way" by Peter Andrew Smith
Make A Way Through The Desert
by Frank Ramirez
Isaiah 40:1-11
A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain (Isaiah 40:3-4)."
Have you ever had someone tell you, when you asked for directions, "You can't get there from here?" Even in our era of GPS, it sometimes seems like the only way to get some place is by rocket jetpack!
While it could be said in the early twentieth century that you could take a train across the nation, there were many places where it was impossible to travel to in a car or a cart or on foot. There were no roads at all.
In 1919 the Great War was over, the Flu Epidemic was waning, and a 28 year-old lieutenant colonel learned about a new way to serve his country -- two volunteer tank officers were needed to fill out the ranks of a special unit that was going to attempt to cross the country, from Washington D.C. to San Francisco along a route that would one day be tied together to become Lincoln Highway.
That tank officer was also a future president -- Dwight D. Eisenhower, and this experience would inspire him to push for the present day interstate system we use today.
It would take the 250 enlisted men, 24 officers, and caravan of 81 vehicles, 62 days to demonstrate that it was going to take the federal government and the will of the American people to insist that good and reliable roads be made.
The trip began July 7, 1919, amid great fanfare, as the "Zero Milestone" just south of the White House was dedicated. The vision was that D.C. would be where all roads would end, and that all the nation's highways would be measured from this point. The trip was planned by the War Department to demonstrate there was nothing American know-how couldn't accomplish.
The caravan lumbered out, with its tankers, field kitchens, searchlight trucks, a five ton trailer (put into use again and again), along with the all important field kitchens -- armies live on their stomachs -- along with the passenger cars that carried reporters and industry professionals. It didn’t take long for them to come to a halt. Fan belts broke, parts gave out, and in the end they covered only forty-six miles in seven hours, arriving in Frederick, Maryland to spend their first night.
Still, the trip went well enough for the eastern-third of the trip. Much of the roadway was paved after a fashion. Motorcycles were sent ahead as scouts to examine the highway, and soon the scouts had a hard time making it back, as the roads become more unreliable through the state of Illinois.
In Nebraska things began to fall apart. At North Platte, about a hundred miles from where a museum now celebrates the Lincoln Highway's place in frontier history, twenty-five trucks ended up in a ditch along the roadside. Then there was the spot where two hundred yards of quicksand forced the entire company of enlisted men to drag every vehicle through the quagmire, taking a whole day to accomplish what it now takes modern vehicles on I-80 a few seconds to cross.
If the plains of Nebraska were bad, things only got worse in the deserts of Utah and Nevada. The Salt Flats west of Salt Lake City brought trucks to a standstill. At one point the caravan nearly ran out of water, which had to be rationed until horse drawn wagons rescued the party.
It was a little better in California, where the convoy finally found paved roads. At last, having traveled 3,242 miles in 62 days, at an average of six miles an hour, the vehicles arrived in San Francisco six days late.
A few decades later then General Eisenhower learned how quickly the Nazis were able to transport troops on their well-engineered autobahn system. That experience, along with the 62 day nationwide crawl, convinced him that the United States needed a modern interstate system. Much credit must go to him for making straight a highway through deserts, over and around mountains, and across valleys.
* * *
Preparing the Way
by Peter Andrew Smith
Mark 1:1-8
Louise looked down the aisle of decorations and lights in the store and sighed. “I think I’m going to skip Christmas this year.”
“Why do you say that, dear?” a voice asked from behind her.
She turned to see an old woman pushing a shopping cart with a few items in it. “Pardon me?”
“I was just passing by and heard you say that you aren’t going to celebrate Christmas this year.” The old woman squinted at her. “I see you’re wearing a cross around your neck so you must believe in Jesus. So why are you down on Christmas?”
“The season is just so focussed on presents and material things.” Louise looked back down the aisle. “I’m tired of it.”
“Oh, is your family pestering you about gifts already?”
“No, my husband is happy with whatever I get him,” Louise said. “Our girls are grown now and don’t ask for extravagant things.”
“That sounds like they aren’t caught up in materialism.” The old woman smiled. “You and your husband must have set a good example for them when they were growing up.”
Louise smiled back. “They are wonderful young women.”
The old woman tilted her head. “So what’s the problem with Christmas then?”
“It seems so empty.”
“Did it always seem that way?”
“No. I can remember when all of December was an exciting wonderful time. Do you have children?”
“I have three boys,” the old woman said. “Now they have families of their own.”
“When the girls were young Christmas was a time of excitement and wonder. There was such energy in the house.”
“Why was that?”
“We would start just after Thanksgiving planning what we would do. My oldest loved to bake so we would spend time making cookies to share with the shut-ins at our church.” Louise grinned. “My youngest was the singer and used to make us go carolling with her at the hospital and nursing home. One year she even arranged for us to go to the prison to sing.”
“That sounds wonderful. When my Charlie was alive I used to love to sing.” The old woman looked wistful. “So did those things make a good Christmas for you?”
“They did,” Louise said. “To me it felt like we were really celebrating the birth of Jesus by reaching out to others and letting the Holy Spirit move within us and through us. I miss those days.”
“So why did you stop doing those things?”
“The girls moved out to go to school,” Louse said. “John and I are busier than ever at work and there doesn’t seem to be enough time in the few days they are all home together.”
The old woman nodded. “You know the story of John the Baptist, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Why do you suppose he wore the wild coat and ate the weird food?”
Louse thought for a moment and then shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“I suspect there’s a reason that some scholar has written about but for me he did those things to catch people’s attention. As soon as they paid attention John used his words and actions to point to Jesus.” The woman gestured down the aisle. “All the decorations we put up and the family activities we do at Christmas aren’t what is important about the season. You already know that though, don’t you?”
“I do?”
“Sure. You told me that all those things you used to do helped you to reach out to others and allowed the Holy Spirit to move you.” The old woman smiled. “To me that means what you did was not as important as where those actions led you. They drew you closer to God because as you did each one and you felt the joy, the peace, the hope, and the love of Christ. ”
“You know I think you’re right.” Louise rubbed her chin. “They’re looking for someone to help out at the church on Christmas Day. We could serve the meal and we could probably lead the carol sing as well.”
“That sounds lovely.” The old woman started to down the aisle.
“Would you like to join us?” Louise asked. “We could always use another voice.”
“That would be wonderful! I would love to come.” The old woman grinned at Louise. “You’ve already made my Christmas and we still have a month to go.”
Louise felt a warmth rush through her heart as she wrote down her contact information and the address to the church. As she said good-by to the old woman, Louse realized she was looking forward to the days ahead and excited about Christmas.
*****************************************
StoryShare, December 10, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2017 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
"Make a Way Through the Desert" by Frank Ramirez
"Preparing the Way" by Peter Andrew Smith
Make A Way Through The Desert
by Frank Ramirez
Isaiah 40:1-11
A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain (Isaiah 40:3-4)."
Have you ever had someone tell you, when you asked for directions, "You can't get there from here?" Even in our era of GPS, it sometimes seems like the only way to get some place is by rocket jetpack!
While it could be said in the early twentieth century that you could take a train across the nation, there were many places where it was impossible to travel to in a car or a cart or on foot. There were no roads at all.
In 1919 the Great War was over, the Flu Epidemic was waning, and a 28 year-old lieutenant colonel learned about a new way to serve his country -- two volunteer tank officers were needed to fill out the ranks of a special unit that was going to attempt to cross the country, from Washington D.C. to San Francisco along a route that would one day be tied together to become Lincoln Highway.
That tank officer was also a future president -- Dwight D. Eisenhower, and this experience would inspire him to push for the present day interstate system we use today.
It would take the 250 enlisted men, 24 officers, and caravan of 81 vehicles, 62 days to demonstrate that it was going to take the federal government and the will of the American people to insist that good and reliable roads be made.
The trip began July 7, 1919, amid great fanfare, as the "Zero Milestone" just south of the White House was dedicated. The vision was that D.C. would be where all roads would end, and that all the nation's highways would be measured from this point. The trip was planned by the War Department to demonstrate there was nothing American know-how couldn't accomplish.
The caravan lumbered out, with its tankers, field kitchens, searchlight trucks, a five ton trailer (put into use again and again), along with the all important field kitchens -- armies live on their stomachs -- along with the passenger cars that carried reporters and industry professionals. It didn’t take long for them to come to a halt. Fan belts broke, parts gave out, and in the end they covered only forty-six miles in seven hours, arriving in Frederick, Maryland to spend their first night.
Still, the trip went well enough for the eastern-third of the trip. Much of the roadway was paved after a fashion. Motorcycles were sent ahead as scouts to examine the highway, and soon the scouts had a hard time making it back, as the roads become more unreliable through the state of Illinois.
In Nebraska things began to fall apart. At North Platte, about a hundred miles from where a museum now celebrates the Lincoln Highway's place in frontier history, twenty-five trucks ended up in a ditch along the roadside. Then there was the spot where two hundred yards of quicksand forced the entire company of enlisted men to drag every vehicle through the quagmire, taking a whole day to accomplish what it now takes modern vehicles on I-80 a few seconds to cross.
If the plains of Nebraska were bad, things only got worse in the deserts of Utah and Nevada. The Salt Flats west of Salt Lake City brought trucks to a standstill. At one point the caravan nearly ran out of water, which had to be rationed until horse drawn wagons rescued the party.
It was a little better in California, where the convoy finally found paved roads. At last, having traveled 3,242 miles in 62 days, at an average of six miles an hour, the vehicles arrived in San Francisco six days late.
A few decades later then General Eisenhower learned how quickly the Nazis were able to transport troops on their well-engineered autobahn system. That experience, along with the 62 day nationwide crawl, convinced him that the United States needed a modern interstate system. Much credit must go to him for making straight a highway through deserts, over and around mountains, and across valleys.
* * *
Preparing the Way
by Peter Andrew Smith
Mark 1:1-8
Louise looked down the aisle of decorations and lights in the store and sighed. “I think I’m going to skip Christmas this year.”
“Why do you say that, dear?” a voice asked from behind her.
She turned to see an old woman pushing a shopping cart with a few items in it. “Pardon me?”
“I was just passing by and heard you say that you aren’t going to celebrate Christmas this year.” The old woman squinted at her. “I see you’re wearing a cross around your neck so you must believe in Jesus. So why are you down on Christmas?”
“The season is just so focussed on presents and material things.” Louise looked back down the aisle. “I’m tired of it.”
“Oh, is your family pestering you about gifts already?”
“No, my husband is happy with whatever I get him,” Louise said. “Our girls are grown now and don’t ask for extravagant things.”
“That sounds like they aren’t caught up in materialism.” The old woman smiled. “You and your husband must have set a good example for them when they were growing up.”
Louise smiled back. “They are wonderful young women.”
The old woman tilted her head. “So what’s the problem with Christmas then?”
“It seems so empty.”
“Did it always seem that way?”
“No. I can remember when all of December was an exciting wonderful time. Do you have children?”
“I have three boys,” the old woman said. “Now they have families of their own.”
“When the girls were young Christmas was a time of excitement and wonder. There was such energy in the house.”
“Why was that?”
“We would start just after Thanksgiving planning what we would do. My oldest loved to bake so we would spend time making cookies to share with the shut-ins at our church.” Louise grinned. “My youngest was the singer and used to make us go carolling with her at the hospital and nursing home. One year she even arranged for us to go to the prison to sing.”
“That sounds wonderful. When my Charlie was alive I used to love to sing.” The old woman looked wistful. “So did those things make a good Christmas for you?”
“They did,” Louise said. “To me it felt like we were really celebrating the birth of Jesus by reaching out to others and letting the Holy Spirit move within us and through us. I miss those days.”
“So why did you stop doing those things?”
“The girls moved out to go to school,” Louse said. “John and I are busier than ever at work and there doesn’t seem to be enough time in the few days they are all home together.”
The old woman nodded. “You know the story of John the Baptist, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Why do you suppose he wore the wild coat and ate the weird food?”
Louse thought for a moment and then shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“I suspect there’s a reason that some scholar has written about but for me he did those things to catch people’s attention. As soon as they paid attention John used his words and actions to point to Jesus.” The woman gestured down the aisle. “All the decorations we put up and the family activities we do at Christmas aren’t what is important about the season. You already know that though, don’t you?”
“I do?”
“Sure. You told me that all those things you used to do helped you to reach out to others and allowed the Holy Spirit to move you.” The old woman smiled. “To me that means what you did was not as important as where those actions led you. They drew you closer to God because as you did each one and you felt the joy, the peace, the hope, and the love of Christ. ”
“You know I think you’re right.” Louise rubbed her chin. “They’re looking for someone to help out at the church on Christmas Day. We could serve the meal and we could probably lead the carol sing as well.”
“That sounds lovely.” The old woman started to down the aisle.
“Would you like to join us?” Louise asked. “We could always use another voice.”
“That would be wonderful! I would love to come.” The old woman grinned at Louise. “You’ve already made my Christmas and we still have a month to go.”
Louise felt a warmth rush through her heart as she wrote down her contact information and the address to the church. As she said good-by to the old woman, Louse realized she was looking forward to the days ahead and excited about Christmas.
*****************************************
StoryShare, December 10, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2017 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
