Ives Run COE #19, Tioga, Pennsylvania
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of you father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept. ~ Genesis 50:15-17 Why do you think Joseph wept over this message? Imagine yourself in a relationship you thought had been restored- wrongs committed, but true forgiveness given – 17 years ago. You’ve carried on a ‘normal’ relationship full of love, joy and caring all this time, and now, you receive a message that the relationship you thought you had has never actually been restored at all, the other party was just going through the motions. Wouldn’t you weep as well? Seemingly all 11 of Joseph’s brothers (grown men well into their 50s and more) are still terrified he’ll demand retribution for what 10 of them did to him 40 years ago. Personally, I find it very sad that they’ve been unable to wash away their guilty conscience in all this time, and that they’re still so terrified of what Joseph has the power to do to them, they can’t see his love and forgiveness for them. This is why Joseph wept. And this is one of the reasons Jesus wept outside Lazarus’ tomb. The people couldn’t see beyond their own failings to see Him for Who He Is and that He offers Love and Forgiveness to all.
Another beautiful, backroads drive. Blaine said it’s his favorite type of drive. No traffic stress! We covered 157 miles in 3 ½ hours as we left the Pocono’s for the Allegany’s and our final stop before we arrive back home. Driving through the multi-shaded green mountains, it’s impossible to imagine them bereft of trees just 100 years ago. That’s not that far off from our lifetime.
Whenever we travel, we inevitably pass through some “oddly named” towns. Today was no different. But today, I wanted to see how Coudersport got it’s name. Since I seem to be concerned about pronunciation today (see below 😊), I looked this one up. If you say “Cow-der-sport”, that just doesn’t make sense. Then again, if you say, “Cowders-port” that really doesn’t either because we’re in the middle of the mountains.
Turns out, the second one’s right! Read below:
The only other mentionable thing is very sad. We saw a dead black bear lying by the side of the road. ☹
Tionesta Lake COE, Tionesta, Pennsylvania
Wanna know how the gps pronounces this town? Shun-ES-ta. It picks up the “tion” like the end of a word. I like it! We’ll have to ask the people living here the proper way, but we believe from things we’ve heard it’s TI-on-es-ta. Just some useless trivia for ya. 😊
We had to let ourselves in today. There was no one manning the office, and no one to tell us where to go. That happens occasionally, but not often.
This is a COE run campground. The US Army Corps of Engineers. It’s here because they built a dam. Guess what? The dam is right beside us. It was built between 1938-1940. I don’t know when they added the campground, but it’s really close to the dam.
As Blaine so wisely stated, “If the dam breaks, we’re gonna get wet.”
Let’s hope and pray he’s not a prophet! lol