Illustrator Amber Share always wanted to create a vintage travel poster for each of the 63 National Parks in the United States. After sharing some of her posters on Instagram (@subparparks) and an article on BoredPanda, her efforts went viral. Her posters are beautiful, but what garnered the most attention was the wording: she added a tongue-in-cheek humorous twist to them by lettering the worst comment that was ever posted online by a visitor. Some of the results were:
- Olympic National Park in Washington state: “No WOW factor”
- Grand Teton National Park: “All I saw was a lake, mountains, and some trees.”
- Grand Canyon National Park: “A Hole. A very, very, large hole.”
- Yosemite National Park: “Trees block view and there are too many gray rocks”
And perhaps the worst one of all, ”
- Isle Royale National Park: “No cell service and terrible wifi.”
While this is humorous, it is sad to note two things that this says about our culture. First of all, it reflects our real national pastime: complaining! Secondly, it shows what an indoor culture we have become, as these visitors completely missed the value in the beauty of creation.
In contrast, Christians can be a light in this world just by following the command in Philippians 2: 14-15:
“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”
Instead of limiting ourselves to small screen entertainment, we will better appreciate God’s amazing landscapes firsthand, and rejoice with Psalm 96:11-12:
“Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord….”
A line from an old John Denver song says, “I know he’d be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly.” Let’s not trade reality for an inadequate substitute. Go outside and rejoice in God’s magnificent creation! And don’t let Junior say, “Uh-huh” and sit in the car with his video game.
Pictures are used with permission of the artist, Amber Share.
