Patti’s Saga of an RV Rookie: How to Live Abundantly

Sedona Hike

 Lately, have you considered how how good  people can be, and how beautiful is our imperfect world?  Some seemingly unrelated events have prompted these thoughts: people we meet RVing, the earthquake in Japan, and camping last week surrounded by the red rock beauty of Sedona, Arizona.

 Take RV reps: even with my occasional (ok, multiple) cracks about the RV buying experience, there are truly great folks in the RV business.  Last week I wrote about Genia at  Van and RV Sales in Rocky Mount, NC. www.vanandrvsales .  She qualifies as “great.” Then there’s  Wendy at International RV in Bay City, MI.  www.internationalrvworldmi.com .

Woodall’s reader, Ronald K., wrote to tell me this about Wendy:

 “We purchased our 5th wheel from Wendy at International RV in Bay City, MI.  She answered our questions with all honesty.  She worked between us and her sales manager to get us a great deal.  After purchase she took time away from her office to go over several key points of our 5Th wheel.  She also is a strong Christian lady and we liked that.  We made our purchase based on our faith in her integrity.

She was awesome and even offered to drive us to another dealer lot to look at a model she did not have in stock.  She really worked hard  to get us the best deal and with that has came great service.  Jamie in parts and service is also awesome.”

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In addition to these great RV reps, do you agree there’s something even more special about people who hang out in state or RV parks?  You just don’t run into many full-on miscreants when camping or RVing; I bet most of you would agree. I think RVers, compared to the general population, are more likely to be helpful, honest, and good citizens. Kind of like good Scouts.

And what do good people have to do with the current heartaches and trials of the Japanese people? It’s all about goodness.  We’re not hearing reports of the Japanese looting; instead we’re hearing reports of helping, and the immediate can-do response of groups like Samaritan’s Purse  http://www.samaritanspurse.org and Lutheran World Relief http://www.lwr.org/emergencies/11/JapanEarthquake/index.asp. I see the sorrow of the Japanese people, yet I see the honor and dignity they maintain in the face of crisis, and I’m in awe. Their response is its own beauty, is it not?

Then there’s the artistry of  nature. I would love to know what God was thinking when He painted Sedona. I mean, how can those rocks and cliffs possibly be that shade of red? If I didn’t know better, I’d think it was all photo shopped. But it’s not. It’s real.

Is life perfect? Are people always great? Do we always help each other when in crisis? Is nature always lovely? No. I wish. But this I do know:  abundant living is loving, giving, and noticing the  artistry that surrounds us. And if we choose, on these things we can focus. To me, that’s abundant living.

Happy Tales to you and yours,

Patti and Renato

Patti