These old churches still standing...

I love driving around Pennsylvania. Not long ago a friend told me how much he loved Pennsylvania, saying he thinks it is one of the most pleasing states. I agree. To be true to myself, I can't help but highlight one of the best businesses of all time, thankfully standing every few miles as we drive down the winding roads; we have to grab a Wawa coffee as we go.

The sites never get old to me: the verdant stretches of open farm land, the tall and towering trees, the stone walls lining the properties of picturesque rustic homes and the old churches that have represented milestones over years and years of time. This last trip home, we drove around point by point, taking photos of these statuesque buildings that have stood the test of much change. It was especially quiet as I walked through some of their simple, delicate chapels, or wandered row by row through the seemingly endless cemeteries. It almost seemed surreal to take it all in, tombstones dating back to the 1800's and even some going further back. Who were these people and what were their stories? Oh to sit and hear what life was like from a firsthand perspective. Truthfully, I would given anything to know what they valued and how they spent their time. I would ask about family routines, books they read, how they saw the world. What if we could go back? What if we could be less tied to so much technology and the distractions that keep us from living real life? To simply walk outside, to feel the ground sink under my feet, to hear the birds and even the trees, to actually notice the Earth...this is how we come more fully alive. This is what we have lost.


So take a look at these buildings that retain the stories of so many who have gone before us. Look at their delightful frames and the unique features that still stand strong and alluring. Meditate on something so real as this.


This was my Great Grandmother's church, founded in 1715...

This headstone reads 1765...









Here is the chapel in Valley Forge, it is the Washington Chapel...








This church was founded in 1711...






Here is another beautiful, old church where my brother proposed to his wife...