Friendship can take a person to new heights on their earth pilgrimage, as well as make the trip worth while!

I’ve believed that as long as I can remember, with my parents modeling it for me and my siblings. I’ve experienced it for myself in every chapter of life.  And I recently experienced it in the heights of the Andes, the center of the ancient Inca Empire.

I joined two long-time friends who flew fighters with me in the military for more than twenty years on a friendship and life adventure to Peru. We flew as captains for American Airlines too, making the travel considerably easier and cheaper.  🙂 We are also Brothers in Christ, each attending different churches in our city. Friends! For three decades now! What a blessing!

 

Peru? The exotic Machu Picchu, picturesque and mysterious, was our adventure destination.  And what a joyful experience it proved to be. To experience travel and places of unusual beauty with friends makes the whole experience more meaningful for everyone and something you share in your hearts for the rest of your life…  and eternity.  The laughter, the vistas, the experiences, the meals shared, the new friends met and made along the way, and experiencing it together is food for the soul and joy to the spirit. It’s the way God intended life to be! A double gift to us.

Contemplating and enjoying with friends the beauty of His creation, and the mystery of His involvement with His creatures everywhere on the globe spells relationship with His sons and daughters. It’s beautiful and enjoyable. I think it pleases God too — to watch us and to Be a part of it.

Friendship! It’s worth it! Enjoy friendship today, and every chance you get! Be proactive at making and enjoying friends! At planning and carving out special times, and setting aside your agenda when opportunities present themselves … to help another, share a meal, have coffee, or go on adventures great or small.

One of my travel friends has a plaque over the door to his cabin on the White River of Arkansas. “Faith, Family, Friends.” That says it all. It’s what matters now and for eternity.

Among other things, Machu Picchu showed us that wherever men are found, God has “set eternity in their heart.”

The wonder of Machu Picchu? And the wonder of Friendship? To be continued…

 

 

 

 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

 

 

 

 

[A Few Photos]

[Many more photos! :)]