Gettysburg, PA - Photo by Loree Huebner "President Lincoln passed by this tree on November 19, 1863" |
This past Saturday, my husband and I spent a beautiful spring day with some good friends around a campfire. As you do with friends, you catch up on each other’s lives since you had last seen each other. You get excited and happy over good news, and sympathize and mourn with them over hard times. At some point in the conversation, we tend to pose deep questions about life, faith, or history. This time, a friend asked a question to the group which sparked many interesting answers.
He asked: If you could go back in time to any two events in history BEFORE you were born…where would you go? Now, the rules: You're in bed and a specter, not unlike Dicken’s Ghost of Christmas Past appears. He will take you where you want to go…back in time. You can’t change the history, and you could only observe and will not be seen. Where would you go?
Wow! Did this set a wildfire of answers! It was hard to stick with just two.
We came up with all sorts of events and places. The conversation went on and on. Answers ranged from The Last Supper to the grassy knoll in Dallas - to see if there was a second gunman behind the picket fence… to Roswell, New Mexico - to see what, if anything crashed in the desert. We had one Woodstock, one moon landing, one signing of the Declaration of Independence, and one Resurrection morning. One friend even suggested that she would want to go back to her parent's wedding – to see her mom walk down the aisle. There were several sports events thrown in for good measure. I don't think the guys could ever settle on just one Hail Mary pass, slam dunk, homerun, or amazing Olympic moment. Even though they were brought up, not any one of us wanted to see actual war battles or the bomb.
My #1 answer was that I would love to be able to witness the Sermon on the Mount. #2 would have me heading back to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on November 19, 1863, to see President Lincoln give the Gettysburg Address.
Where would you go? Remember, it has to be before you were born. I would love to hear from you.
Between you, me and the gatepost,
Loree