Devoted to Traveling: Revised Edition

By Arlene Rains Graber

A unique devotional book by Kansas writer, Arlene Rains Graber. The book is a chronicle of the first-hand experiences of a woman whose adventures are written with lessons learned. Travel the globe with her as she experiences the healing aspects of San Francisco to a spiritual renewal in an ancient cathedral all the while allowing readers to experience the highs and lows of traveling. As a travel professional since 1983, Graber also gives first-hand accounts of how to pack, security issues, and what happens at the airport when “canceled” blazes over the departure screen. Below is an excerpt from the book.

The mystery of a Mustard Seed
“So does your garden look like this?”
“I wish,” I replied. We were walking through Giverny, Monet’s home and gardens. The stranger to my left had asked the question.
He grinned sheepishly. “Neither does mine.”
He walked off and I resumed my own thoughts about the functional garden I was visiting. Giverny, home to Claude Monet, is located about 50 miles northwest of Paris. It spreads over five acres, and has been fully restored from the brutality of war. Today, the gardens and home draw more than 500,000 tourists each year. It is the site for many of Monet’s famous paintings like the water color and Japanese bridge series, along with numerous flower paintings. His work here was distinctive in that he created them twice. First he planted the gardens, and then when they grew into lush vistas of color, painted them.
There is a walkway that circles the gardens keeping tourists from trampling plants. I’m surprised at the unruly overgrown flowers and greenery quite unlike the usual formal gardens of the French. Flowers are planted in clumps and let to roam. Iron arbors are laden with climbing rose bushes, and lily ponds offer tranquility while colorful wooden bridges groan with the weight of purple Wisteria vines.

I’m told that in those days, (1883) most plantings came from seeds, and I marvel at the patience it must have taken to get the garden just like he wanted. But, as Monet toiled day after day planting, propagating, pruning, and cutting, his life prospered. His paintings became universally known, as well as the gardens. It reminded me of the parable Jesus told of the mustard seed, and how if cultivated properly would grow so high that birds might use them for shelter.

The Kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which someone took, and sowed in his field. Matthew 13:31-32

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arlene Rains Graber
• Release date: May 10, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463216279

Arlene Rains Graber

Arlene Rains Graber is an award winning freelance writer from Wichita, Kansas. Her writing career spans more than thirty-five years with more than 100 articles, essays, and devotionals published in numerous newspapers, magazines and periodicals. Books published are listed below. Graber is a retired travel agent who has traveled throughout the world. She is a graduate of the University of Memphis, is an avid scrapbooker, a graduate of Bible Study Fellowship, the proud grandmother of two boys, and has attended Eastminster Presbyterian Church for over thirty-seven years. Books by Arlene Rains Graber are: Devoted to Traveling (a devotional book) was published by AWOC Publishers, A Plane Tree in Provence, (Women's Fiction and First Place winner in the Kansas Authors Club Contest) Angel on My Shoulder (Christian Fiction) The Cape Elizabeth Ocean Avenue Society (second on the Plane Tree series) was released in 2012, Sarah's Choice - With a little help from Tuscany was published in 2014, and The "Casting" of Wendy Holcomb, published in 2017. Graber's newest non-fiction book, Lessons from Maine was released in 2016. It is a memoir of the author's annual retreats to Maine.

Book preview

Introduction

I was raised in a household where summer vacations were as part of the schedule as school during the rest of the year. My father was a sports−enthusiast, which was the crux of our vacations. We fished in Minnesota, hiked in Colorado, and attended baseball and basketball games all over the United States.

It was my father’s sincere desire to show his children Yankee Stadium, and I’ve included this memoir for you to see how we traveled in those days. I was ten at the time, and I believe it was this trip that sparked a sense of wanderlust and set the stage for a life filled with travel.

Years later, when I embarked on my own travels, I kept detailed diaries (as they were called in those days) of each trip listing the activities, problems, and thrills I encountered. The journals provided a vast amount of information for this book.

The decision to fashion some of my ventures in the form of devotionals was easy, because on each and every journey I learned a valuable lesson which provided food for continued daily devotions.

I admit to times in my younger life when I questioned the creation. College will do that to you, but I was blessed to have been brought up in a household where Christianity and Bible study was prominent, and my faith overcame popular theories.

After my children were grown, I was fortunate to witness the Holy Land, the Book of Kells (written by the prophets and translated by monks), and visit ancient temples, churches and cathedrals. I took Bible Study classes that actually explained the scriptures, and began solitary retreats away from home.

Both provided me with a renewed understanding of God. Today, I can say that the power of faith and knowledge of God’s ever present protection has blessed my life in more ways than I deserve.

- Galatians 6:9

So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.

DeSoto Discipline

-1949 Wichita, KS

The family 1949 seven-passenger DeSoto Sedan, one of the first cars that year to have an automatic transmission with fluid drive, sat regally in our driveway. Its sturdy shiny mint green body glistened, showcasing three-window sides and a heavy chrome grill set on a wraparound chrome bumper atop extra wide white wheels. Today, our family will be taking it on vacation.

Dad loaded six pieces of luggage and a cooler full of sodas and water inside the oversized trunk, and then gave me an affectionate pat while tossing two sacks full of games and snacks into the back seat.

My father is a fanatic baseball fan. In fact, he’s a fanatic about any sport. This summer he decided to trek across the country visiting baseball parks from Wichita, Kansas to Yankee Stadium in New York City.

The trip was meticulously mapped out. We would travel first to Blues Stadium in Kansas City to catch a game, then to St. Louis, Cincinnati, Chicago, and finally Yankee Stadium. My brother, Jerald, and I were less than enchanted about being caged inside the car for the better part of two weeks, and the whining started the minute preparations were made for the trip.

First, it was Jerald. What will we do cooped up in a car for hours and hours?

We’ll take along books and several board games for you to play, Mom said, and once you’re in the baseball stadium watching Mickey Mantle on the field, you’ll forget all about the long ride.

That sounded good, but then there was the issue of baby Mary.

I say, leave her home, Jerald suggested.

I agreed, hastily saying Great idea.

She’ll have fun and be no problem. You’ll see, Dad said.

I had several complaints of my own. Well, you know I get car sick, so I’ll have to ride in the front seat. I was hoping this fact might cause them to reconsider taking baby Mary.

Oh you don’t either, Jerald sneered. It’s all in your head. Quit complaining.

We started down Interstate I-35 toward Kansas City. With a steady foot, Dad kept the speed at an even eighty miles per hour, and three hours later we parked at Blues Stadium. Our family, which included Grandma, Mom, Dad, baby Mary, Jerald and I, trooped off to watch Kansas City play the Yankees. We were all excited to see Mickey Mantle in person and I coaxed Dad into buying me a bat autographed by the guy.

The next day we sped to Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis to see the St. Louis Cardinals. Dad made the trip to St. Louis in a record four hours, considering we had to stop every hour for Grandma’s bladder malfunction. The Cardinals played the New York Giants and Dad kept raving about their new player, Willie Mays. I like baseball talk as well as the next person, but already I was anxious to get going and get this trip over.

Things in the back seat began to deteriorate on the stretch between St. Louis and Cincinnati, with my car sickness and hanging my head out the back wing window half the time. Jerald kept making fun and throwing stuff at me, and Grandma between us just snoozed away like nothing was going on.

By the time we hit Crosley Field in Cincinnati, I was ready to leave the car behind and walk the rest of the way. Baby Mary couldn’t sleep from the noise, and expressed fear that we might turn on her next. We would be seeing a double header here, so Dad had wisely arranged a two-night stay. The games were fun and when Jerald and I weren’t running up and down the bleachers, we were plied with junk food. Exhaustion set in by the time the games were over and we headed for the car.

Whoa, Dad exclaimed, Must have been that foul ball that Ted Williams hit.

Sure enough, there was a huge crack smack on the driver’s side. Dad was less than happy about the hit and returned promptly to the stadium to see if they would pay for the repair. Nope, he was told. No liability coverage for foul balls. Dad just smiled citing that it was still worth it to see the big hitters play, and witness the Boston Red Sox getting runners on base before letting the big poppers drive them in.

We spent the next day swimming and having water fights while the car was at the repair shop. Then, it was on to Comiskey Park in Chicago to see the all-star game with the best and most famous players in baseball. Everyone was excited to see this game. There was lots of chatter about seeing Roy Campanella and my favorite, Minnie Miinoso.

On the way to Chicago, Jerald decided to shoot a few hoops in the back seat. Granted our backseat was roomy in comparison to other cars, but this little caper proved to be the stroke that threw Dad over the edge. My question was, Why did they let a kid take a basketball on a road trip?

Grandma, unable to sleep, nudged Dad in the back and said, Wilson these kids need some discipline or I’ll be swatting the both of them soon.

Good grief, Grandma, I thought. Just swat Jerald as the culprit and get it over with. Couldn’t she see Dad was driving?

Dad braked the car and pulled onto the shoulder of the road. Son, get out. You too, Sissy.

After much discussion, we returned to the car, and Dad gave a triumphant smile and we headed onward.

Unfortunately, Dad’s method of discipline needed improvement. Things were worse than before, with jabbing, pinching, and screaming. Then, just outside Chicago, the car quit. Dad worked and worked on it until he got it going enough to get to a mechanic shop. The mechanics worked and checked everything out, but said it was a mystery why the motor quit. They were stumped, and warned that it might happen again since they hadn’t a clue why it quit in the first place. Brand new car and it quits? Better buy a Ford next time I thought to myself.

After much discussion, Dad decided not to risk it and announced we would be returning home and would try to drive straight through.

Music to my ears. The sooner I got out of this car the better. We missed Minnie Miinoso, but sixteen hours later, we pulled into our own driveway

It would be much later in life that I realized how tolerant my parents were on those trips. They willingly stopped at our every whim, listened to our senseless talk, and let us have all the junk food we wanted. We took many trips as a family, and even though my car sickness was and is a reality even to this day, I loved those vacations, which were a catalyst for a life of travel ahead.

Loving Father, teach me patience. Help me to be tolerant of others and give me direction on how to handle turmoil.

.

Organized Tour Travel

1

Traveling Marathons

Blessed are those who do hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

On my first trip to Europe, I took a twenty-three-day marathon through several countries. This type of trip is much like those exercises of racing through the Bible in three hundred sixty-five days. You’re taken with the content and learn just enough that it gives you a thirst for more. And like the Bible, which lures you to return and study one book at a time in depth, the trip gave me the incentive to revisit Europe one country at a time.

The motor coach tour started in London with the usual sights of the Crown Jewels, Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, and Westminster Abbey, then progressed to the countryside. From there it went to Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, and Spain, visiting the tourist sites in each. Our days began with an included breakfast of a hard roll, butter, jelly, coffee, and orange juice. By the end of the trip our group was having hard roll fights across the breakfast room, our clothes could stand in the corner by themselves from repeated wear, and all the passengers had gone from well-kept to shoddy in appearance. Even so, the evenings were spent over elaborate dinners with lots of conversation, and by the time we said good-bye, we were family. Tired? Extremely! But also full of information and loaded with treasures from each country.

In Holland, mattresses hanging outside the windows of doll-like homes were a sight to behold, and the fresh Gouda cheese, a treat. Cuckoo clocks in Germany found their way into my suitcase, and in Switzerland, lunch on the lake in shirt sleeves with snow capped Alps in the background was wonderful. In Italy we had dinner outside at a restaurant located on a mountainside with only candles for lights, and in Spain, I was fortunate to see the Black Paintings by Goya that I wrote about in my graduate thesis. In France, shopping competed with the Mona Lisa and Eiffel Tower and I left Paris proudly wearing my new designer jeans purchased at Galeries Lafayette vowing to return.

It was a wonderful experience, and I would recommend this