For all the peoples walk,
Micah 4:5
each in the name of its god,
but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God
for ever and ever.
One of the many delights of Tarboro is its walkability – especially in the historic district where we live. Max and I usually walk down to the Tar River then back up Main Street in the early morning, then we walk through The Square, up past the Brewery and around the Town Common in the evening.
Friday afternoon, in the beautiful sunshine, we took Rebekah along too and enjoyed a stroll through The Common and around to the early 19th Century Norfleet Cotton Press.
Along the way we checked out some of the historical markers, everything from George Washington’s visit, to the great sadness of the Civil War, to luminary individuals who have helped shape the community over the years, to the 2002 Veterans Memorial – dedicated to Edgecombe County veterans “Past, Present, and Future,” featuring flags from all five branches, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.
I don’t know, maybe it is an echo from my childhood, where I walked everywhere around Folkestone, hiking from our house to the downtown, to the seafront, along the cliffs and up and over the hills behind the community – but there is something deeply good and satisfying about putting my dog on his leash and feeling that visceral connection between the sidewalk and my soul.
It could simply be the greater call to a simpler life. Regardless, I plan to embrace it.
Come away from rush and hurry
Marva Dawn (1999)
to the stillness of God’s peace;
From our vain ambition’s worry,
come to Christ and find release.
Come away from noise and clamor,
life’s demands and frenzied pace;
Come to join the people gathered
here to seek and find God’s face.
