Seattle, in All Her Glory

It’s hard to believe that I was gone for five days on vacation. Rarely do I take vacations, and ever rarer for five glorious days =).

Emily was planning a trip to Washington a number of months ago and invited me to come along with her. Truly, a terrific idear. Kudos to you, Emmie. This was especially important because Emily grew up in Washington State and would be able to show me around, meet her friends and more of her family.

Our trip included, but not limited to, Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Bremerton and the Hood Canal (that may or may not be considered a city *ignorant smirk*). One of Emily’s close friends, Crisslee, was our gracious host located in Tacoma. It is a charming city with an innumerable number of mom-and-pop shops. We ate there on more than one occasion; the customer service was terrific.

Seattle was almost a two day experience, which was well-deserved. I still remember the drive into the city from Tacoma: lots of traffic on the one freeway in, with lots of these things they call “skyscrapers.” One of my goals was to take a picture of every Starbucks in sight, which means I’ve prolly acquired dozens and dozens of these photos – more often than not with more than one Starbucks in view along with another coffee shop! It was hilarious. Oh, and we had coffee. Every day. Many a time. I don’t think I’ve consumed that much coffee over such a brief span of time.

My next impression of Seattle was of how much was going on throughout the city. Of course there are tourists, but also those hard at work, protestors, lots of people walking, and people engaged in conversation. I probably spoke with five or six different protestors along one of the busier streets: people protesting the War in Iraq, advocates for Palestinian rights, same-sex marriage, cult religions, and Christian street evangelists.

In Seattle, but moreso in Olympia, I could immediately sense (not supernaturally) spiritual and moral decadence. The homosexual community is openly unashamed of their lifestyle, to the point where it was flaunted all over town, and in creative ways. Honestly, I didn’t know so many guys dressed like that. Because of my sometimes diverse audience, I suppose I should add that I do not hate homosexuals at all. But I do believe what the Bible says about it: it is a sinful and unacceptable lifestyle. God is our Creator – we, His creatures – and He has the right to define our behavior, including our sexuality. Obviously, I felt terribly sad for the rampant promotion of sin throughout this beautiful state, especially in these two cities. I’m certain that if I lived there, I would spend much of my time seeking productive conversations with the many opponents to the gospel.

So overwhelming was the rampant sinful behavior in Washington that I am now praying this culture doesn’t spread throughout the rest of our nation. It would be our undoing. May God be merciful to our nation and grant a reformation and revival.

How could I go to Seattle and not visit Pike’s Place Market??? I mean, come on! I work for the best coffee shop on earth (and now having added many more coffee shops to the list, I can say that with greater confidence =)). We waited in line for twenty minutes to get inside the first Starbucks. Any guesses what I ordered? The famous trio of black singers was outside … singing. They were great! We walked through the entire fish market where I bought these deep-fried donuts recommended by my manager (another native to Seattle), and saw the famous fish-throwing market.

Probably the most important part of the trip was getting to meet Emily’s brother and sister in law, along with her grandparents. Pretty sure I hit it off with all of ‘em, even though I’m Reformed. *whew* … *tries to look more confident* … I mean! Was there any doubt?!?! =)

Overall, it was a swell time, and I’m sad to be back to reality =). Pics to come on fb, soon.

Thanks for reading,
Bainton