My wife and I visited the Great Smokey Mountain National Park this summer. It was beautiful, breath-taking, and spectacular. While there, we stayed in Pigeon Forge. I was amazed. There is a twenty mile stretch of road leading from Interstate 40 into the Park and it is solid tourist attractions. Bumper-to-bumper traffic and an endless array of shops, restaurants, attractions, and shows. The people, the traffic, and the tourist venues were enough to overwhelm me. Yet every time I looked up I could see the mountains.

I could not help but wonder what the real attraction was for all the people we saw. It appeared that most of them spent their time in the man-made tourist center. The National Park was less crowded, cheaper, and more beautiful. I am sure the mountains were the original attraction for this area, but they have been overtaken by the modern tourist hustle and bustle. Yet, there they are ... just a short drive away.

It occurs to me that some people live their lives like the tourists I saw. They are busy with the life they created. Yet it is often too busy, too crowded, and too artificial. And all the while, there is a different life available — the life God designed us to live. God created each of us. He has a purpose for each of us. He wants us to live a life full of hope, joy, purpose, and peace. But most of us will choose to live as tourists in a society absent of those emotions, never looking up to see that there is a different life to choose.

If you have a sense that you are missing something real in your life, and you would like to know if there is a different way to live, then write me at steve@hopeforlife.org. Or check out the blog at www.hopeforlife.org.

It is easy to get caught up in the life I have created ... and not even realize I am missing the life God created for me.

(Expressed written consent must be obtained prior to republishing, retransmitting or otherwise reusing the content of this article.