Scott Schul, pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, visited natural and historic places in and around Concord, Massachusetts. “Concord is one of my very favorite places on the planet, not only because of the sheer beauty of nature, but because of all the overlapping stories and histories that converge there.”
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I took this photo while my wife Linda and I were canoeing on the Concord River in Concord, MA. It’s one of my very favorite places on the planet, not only because of the sheer beauty of nature, but because of all the overlapping stories and histories that converge there. The Old North Bridge, in the background, marks the beginning of the American Revolution. The Old Manse, out of the picture but nearby, was a witness to those “shots heard round the world” and also a place that nurtured one of our nation’s greatest writers and thinkers, Ralph Waldo Emerson. The Manse also served as home for another great writer, Nathaniel Hawthorn, who moved there with his dear wife Sophia right after their marriage. The river itself was the favorite place of one of my heroes, Henry David Thoreau. That river was his inspiration, his home, and his source of wisdom. What a blessing to walk (and row!) the pathways of so much history. My most treasured vacations have helped me reconnect with the past, but in doing so they have equipped me to more faithfully and creatively engage my present and prepare for my future.