Maine in summertime. Have three more glorious words ever been laced together? I contend they have not. My Grampy and Nanny lived Downeast, which happily afforded me childhood summers roving the East Coast. A favorite destination was Acadia National Park located on Mount Desert Island, or MDI as the locals call it, a'yuh!
(My sisters and me on top of Cadilac Mtn)
From the peaks of Acadia’s crowning jewel - Cadillac Mountain - lavender lupine, Canada's lush green borders, and white sailboats bobbing in the deep blue ocean fill your eyes. Sweet hay and crisp pine scents romance your sniffer. Warm, salty breezes refresh you. Acadia translates to "heaven on earth" in French; I couldn't agree more.
(A lil' slice of heaven: Acadia National Park)
Before I get carried away though, I want to introduce you to George. George Dorr.
His were the sort that hung out with the perpetually exclusive, though I'm not one to name drop (cough, cough! Kennedy, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller). Flabbergasting wealth afforded them luxurious summers on the coast as well. Determined to keep MDI their private playground, they rapidly scooped up land to perch their "cottages" (ahem; see picture below). MDI did not stand a chance to remain naturally pristine with the tug of war waging between these Industrious and the timber companies. In the early 1900's, George and a few other men saw the warning signs. Act now to rescue the land or it will be lost forever.
(Dorr summer home, The Old Farm)
George, bachelor and heir to a New England textile fortune (read: did not have to work), jumped into action and took the helm of saving MDI's spectacular natural beauty. He and his cronies tirelessly petitioned the other wealthies to donate their land. If they wouldn't budge, George bartered with his own inheritance.
(Thanks guys!)
The main goal was this: rescue as much land as possible, put it under the authority of the government so it would be untouchable and call it a National Park. This with a new fangled idea George and friends came up with.
All said and done, 47,000 acres of land (open to all!) now proudly bears the name and security of Acadia National Park; 30,000 of these acres are on MDI.
George did it! But at what cost? A high one...he died a pauper. At the time of his death, George called a shack his home, having given everything - cottage (the one pictured above), land, inheritance - to save what he loved.
(Wild Lupines)
I wonder if George was in love with God. If so, did he recognize how his life's example points to Christ's?
Christ sees something so beautiful He gave everything to save it. He left His home in heaven.
He gave His very life.
He gave His very life.
He gave His very life.
He saw something beautiful and acted out of mercy on the cross to rescue so all would not be lost.
Now, we bear His Name and rest under His authority...untouchable to that which would destroy and mar. We rest under His hope. And we rest knowing He thinks we are utterly invaluably beautiful and worth His very life.
(View from the top, Cadillac Mountain)
George gave all he had for the public to enjoy Acadia National Park, aka "heaven on earth." Jesus gave all He had to bring heaven on earth, so we can one day enjoy Him in heaven. I hope someday you visit the park to appreciate George’s efforts. (Send me a postcard!) But more than that, I sincerely hope you visit the cross of Christ and approach His throne with confidence to find for yourself the Love that saves you for eternity.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin so that he'd see life come from it—life, life, and more life. And God's plan will deeply prosper through him. ~Isaiah 53
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