A Weekend In Williamsburg

We took the weekend to travel to Williamsburg, Virginia with some long time friends and travel buddies with the hope of seeing something often missed in Texas — fall leaves. While the picture I snapped gave us a clue what fall leaves really look like, we were apparently a week or so early. Most of the trees were still green or just beginning to turn. Not what we expected, but certainly not a disappointment. Virginia is a beautiful state.

We spent one day walking through historic Williamsburg where the birth of the American Revolution is still celebrated. Then we visited both Yorktown and Jamestown. 

At Jamestown we saw a replica of The Discovery, one of the ships that brought the first English settlers to the area. This ship was chosen for the journey because it had a shallow draft, only six and a half feet, to allow for travel up rivers. Great choice for rivers, but can you imagine making that Atlantic voyage on a 66 foot boat buffeting around like a ping pong ball while you are below deck biding your time? No doubt, our forefathers were made of tougher stuff than we are. 

But, the best part of traveling with good friends is the company, not the destination. Now believe it or not, not all friends qualify as travel buddies. It is a rare gift indeed to find someone you can spend a week or two with and not get bored or find they (or you) have idiosyncrasies that get on somebody’s last nerve. We spent four days together with these friends and never ran out of stories to share or things to discuss.

But, it is even better when you find friends you would want to have at your back in a battle. We happened to meet these friends in just such circumstances in 1992 when I ran for the Round Rock school board. A lot of people say they will pray for you, but Jim was at every school board meeting, often until after midnight, sitting in the audience, quietly praying. Since then they have always been a go to couple when we have prayer requests. There is just something about a faithful prayer warrior.

Character shines through people’s actions. Not only is Jim a powerful prayer warrior, he is a true steward of all God has given him. When he walks around his neighborhood he carries a plastic bag and picks up trash. Much to his wife’s chagrin, he also picks up trash when we are walking around whatever area we are visiting. He doesn’t carry his plastic bag around with him, so he has to carry the trash to the next trash can. It is an habit that ensures that every place he visits is cleaner when he leaves than when he came.

These are the friends who come over for games nights and cook outs. They pray for your kids when they need it and celebrate their accomplishments with you. Sometimes schedules may be too cluttered to get together for long periods of time, but everything is dropped if you have a family need or emergency. You know a prayer warrior is only a phone call away — day or night.

 It is people like this with whom you want to do life. We have been blessed indeed to be able to do so.