Tuesday, August 08, 2006

deja vu

There is deja vu and then there is deja vu! For instance, I am still surprised at how powerful the sights and sounds of our childhood and youth remain in us. I finally slowed down enough on this trip to drive around and see some sights from my childhood and wow the flood of memories that brought back! And then the smells of the ole farm country, especially fresh cut hay, brings back tons of memories of friends, fun and work.

Today we went to Amicalola State Park and Anna Ruby Falls State park. Yes this means I mostly took a day off, so calm your heart. It was a beautiful drive and since it was so hot and humid, the parks were mostly empty except for rattle snakes, cottonmouth snakes, water moccasins etc, etc . . . you get the picture.

The conversation in the car was most interesting. It was my brother and I, and our oldest offsprings. The topic of conversation was churches here in the South. There was some sharp criticism in the car about the way churches are here in the deeeeeep South. The most interesting conclusion was how rare it was for someone to break out and leave this style of Christianity.

But I did, and I don’t know exactly how I did, but at the same time, I still feel the subtle play of that style and theology under my skin. In other words, I am alot more conservative at the core, than one would think after meeting me. What a delicious contradiction :-)

1 comment:

Sue O. (aka Joannie, SS) said...

Ok, on Sunday I was watching the "all Country" channel and in order to get to the movie I wanted, I had to suffer through Hee Haw. I let it be known to my northern, sophisticated daughter and her friend that I do not willingly watch fake cornfields, straw hats and THAT kind of music.

However, I must say this...I think we owe Southern conservatism a debt of gratitude. I find myself wanting to sing "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus" among all the modern choruses we do, and I love a no-nonsense preaching style that's heavy on basic truths no matter how much they sting of freshly fertilized earth.