A Road Trip Lesson

November 24th, 2009 |

Her name is Miriam Harper.  She lives in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, but she is from Crystal Springs, Mississippi.  We met her several weeks ago when “TnT” took a one-day excursion to Eureka Springs as part of our trip to Branson.  After a rather nerve racking ride up the mountain on the bus, we arrived at the historic Crescent Hotel and Miriam stepped on board to greet us.  She was all smiles and so eager to share with us that she was a fellow Mississippian.  What I immediately found interesting is that she did not work for the hotel or the tourism bureau.  She is on staff with the Pine Mountain Lodge Jamboree where we had tickets for a show later that night.  We had a pretty busy schedule, but every time I looked up, there was Miriam, quietly in the background at each stop making sure we had everything we needed.  When we at last arrived at the Lodge that evening, she climbed on the bus once again to welcome us to “her place”.  As I watched her in action, I was reminded what a great ambassador she was, not just for Pine Mountain, but the entire region.  She was upbeat, informed, and obviously in love with her adopted community.  She was not territorial, but rather sought to make our entire experience that day a good one.  She displayed the kind of genuine concern that makes a place stick out in your mind and gives you a reason to go back again.   Kathy and I hope to return to Eureka Springs sometime in the near future.  We want to stroll the streets of this historic town and maybe even spend a night.  They say that you never have a second chance to make a first impression.  I pray today that we will display a spirit that will cause people to want to return here time and time again.
“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
II Corinthians 5:20

A Road Trip Lesson,
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