Tupelo or Bust

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11(NIV)

I gawked as my car passed the rusty truck with a crude wooden rack surrounding the bed. I thought I was on the set of the Beverly Hillbillies. I wasn't sure about the make and model of the vehicle, but it sure looked like the Clampett's 1921 Oldsmobile that I passed one day on HWY 66 headed to Tulsa.

The truck bed was loaded with furniture and other miscellaneous items. Rope secured their belongings. Attached to the tailgate was a cardboard sign with the words Tupelo or Bust and Jeremiah 29:11 scrawled in bold, black letters.

Because I didn't want to forget the Bible passage, I asked my son to write the chapter and verse in the notebook I carry with me. I was eager to get home and find the exact wording of the citation.

When I searched for Jeremiah 29:11 in my NIV Bible, I read: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

As I pondered this verse, a visual image of the dilapidated truck came to mind. Heaped on the back of that vehicle was probably everything the occupants owned. It wasn't much, but the owners had carefully tied their belongings down.

I had no other clues about the passengers of the jalopy. I wondered about their journey. Who were they? What was their situation? When had they embarked on their pilgrimage? Where had they started? Why Tupelo? How had their choices led to the current decision to pack up and move?

I would have loved to sit down with these travelers. I wanted to ask them so many questions besides the ones above. I have always been curious, wanting to know more about people and the choices they make. Maybe that's why I chose journalism as my college major.

Then I remembered the other part of the sign posted on their truck: Tupelo or Bust. Curious, I went to the town's website and read the following: Tupelo is truly Mississippi's All-American City. It's the place to go for small town friendliness and big city attractions. Situated in the heart of the Mid-South, cradled amid the gentle rolling hills of Northeast Mississippi, Tupelo is a city that thrives on success.

Although it didn't answer all of my questions, I understood more about the brave pilgrims headed down the highway to Mississippi. They have faith. Their hope in the future is manifested in the Bible verse: Jeremiah 29:11.

We could learn a lesson from these travelers who had taken a giant leap of faith when they packed their meager possessions and headed to Tupelo with the assurance that God had plans for their future. Their hope was revealed in the hand-written words from Jeremiah.

My hope is in the Lord. Is yours?

Five years+ cancer survivor, Carol Round, writes a weekly faith-based column that can be found in 12 Oklahoma newspapers and one national publication. To learn more about A Matter of Faith, her self-syndicated column, check out her website at http://www.carolaround.com. A collection of Carol Round's most popular faith-based columns is now available in book form. For more information, readers can reach her at carolaround@yahoo.com.

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