The closest big city to Kings Mountain
National Military
Park is Charlotte, North Carolina.
Since we had a rainy day we decided to check out Tripadvisor’s #1 “Thing to do”
in Charlotte:
the Billy Graham Library. This free library/museum shares the story of
Christian evangelist Billy Graham’s life and ministry. The library grounds
include Billy Graham’s childhood home, the barn shaped library, and the Memorial Prayer Garden.
We started with the Memorial Prayer Garden.
This peaceful garden on the edge of the woods is the burying place of Billy’s
wife, Ruth. Billy Graham, now 98, will be buried there when the time comes. In
addition a few other people associated with Graham’s original team are buried
in the vicinity. We read that there were some family and friends who opposed
this location for burial, not wanting the graves to become a tourist
attraction. Nevertheless the grounds were lovely. A plaque near Ruth’s gravestone
read,
While riding down the highway years ago, Ruth noticed a sign beside the road. "End of Construction—Thank you for your patience." With a smile, she said that these were the words she wanted on her gravestone.
Those words are engraved on
her stone, as well as, the Chinese character for Righteousness. She was born in
China
and carried a lifelong love for the Chinese.
Next we walked through the
Graham Family Homeplace.
This home, originally
located four miles away on the Graham’s 300-acre dairy farm, was carried here
brick by brick and board by board and decorated as it was when Billy grew up.
Docents explained about the house and Billy’s family life.
Since Billy Graham grew up
on a dairy farm, the Billy Graham Library looks like a barn with barn décor.
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| a talking cow introduces one to the Journey of Faith |
To tour the place one goes
through “The Journey of Faith” a pathway through over a dozen rooms and stations
that tell the story of Billy Graham and his wife Ruth, explain the Billy Graham
Crusades, and share a summary of the gospel message optionally giving visitors
a chance to commit their lives to Christ and have someone pray with them. The
rooms used state of the art multi-media displays that created a different
atmosphere in every room. One room made it look like you were in a tent
reminiscent of Billy Graham’s early preaching days. Another room honoring Ruth
replicated the cozy fireplaced room of their home. And yet another room had
lots of old black and white TV sets displaying Graham’s use of the TV in
preaching the Christian message. Some was tasteful. Some was kitschy and
touristy. Some honored Billy’s ministry and message but some seemed to emphasize
his notoriety.
There was one small exhibit
that particularly resonated with Barbara. The book Unbroken by Laura
Hillenbrand had been on Barbara’s list of books to read for several years and
then she found it cheap at a library book sale. She held on to the book for a while
as she knew it was a tough story and wanted to be up for it. She finally picked
it up and started reading it shortly before our trip to the Graham library not
aware of any connection with Graham. Little did she know there’d be a display
on it. The book is about Louis Zamperini, an Olympian and World War II prisoner
of war survivor. The display mentioned the book and Graham’s influence on
Zamperini. Now Barbara has to finish the book.
One exits the Journey of
Faith by going through the bookstore and there also is a barn-like café where
we grabbed lunch and aptly topped off our barn experience with a milkshake.
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| booths like barn stalls in the café |
