On May 21, 1932 Garnet Carter had a problem.
Thanks to his wife, Frieda, he was sitting on one of the most breathtaking views and inspiring gardens in the Southeast.
This garden was unrivaled, filled with a large variety of flowers, imported statues of gnomes and fairytale creatures. It was a marvel wrapped around Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, TN. It even included Rock City, a lookout where multiple states can be seen from a breath taking perch.
It was an impressive destination.
But almost no one knew about it.
And therein lay his problem.
How could Garnet garner visitors to his wife's attraction on the heels of the Great Depression and in an age before social media marketing? His solution was ingenious.
Teaming up with painter Clark Byers, Garnet hatched a plan. They offered to repaint barns for free. The catch? Three words would be painted on one side. "See Rock City."
It worked like a charm.
Before they knew say “See Rock City” five times fast, barns from Texas to Michigan had the easy to read slogan painted on them and Rock City was full of visitors.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Have you seen it?
As a resident of Tennessee, I've come to love seeing these slogans as I drive through our back roads. Coming across this ingenious marketing plan is like seeing an old friend.
But recently, I noticed something....
"See Rock City" isn't a slogan reserved for large barns, it's found on small barn-shaped bird houses as well. And not in rural areas, in everyday neighborhoods. In fact, as soon as I first noticed them a few months ago, I see them everywhere. On my path to the gym, I pass five!
Now, I'm seeing them on roads I've driven for years, and I've never noticed. These little bird houses advertising Rock City are littered across my daily drives - and I never knew to look for them.
This had me thinking.
What else am I missing?
The God who’s there
Just like Rock City sponsored bird houses so it is with God's work in the daily rhythms of our life.
He's there. Working, weaving, speaking, and calling us. But if we're not attentive, if we aren't aware, if we aren't looking, we'll miss him. Just like how I've missed these little bird houses.
It's so easy to drift through our days thinking God is not present. That God isn't involved.
But if you open your eyes and soften your heart you'll find him all around. Just like the bird houses.
In the little moments at Kroger's checkout counter. At the red light. In the brief text message from a friend. Or the mundane tasks of laundry and dishes.
God is always reaching out. Always working and beckoning us deeper into communion.
Seeing Rock City show up throughout the day is fun. Seeing Jehovah is exhilarating.
So ask him to show up this week in the ordinary, the mundane, and the unexpected.
You'll be glad when he does.