Honest Abe

This weekend, Kris' parents came down to our place to visit. We talked at length about Nicaragua facts and figures, and with the help of Kris' father, Ed, we got several legal forms regarding finances and health taken care of.

Saturday afternoon, Kris; Kris' mom, Jeanne; and I visited Springfield, IL to see the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum that just opened this April. Though situated within a short distance of such historical landmarks as the old Lincoln Home, and the Old State Capitol of Illinois, the museum itself is less a historical centerpiece and more an educational performance, aimed at giving an in-depth look into the life of our 16th President to a generation raised by televisions.

Having a somewhat Disney World feel at times, the exhibits incorporate creative multimedia messages in an effort to guide the visitor through the massive amounts of events, artifacts, politics, emotions, vices, and virtues surrounding the life and history of Abraham Lincoln. The different exhibits have varying degrees of power as well.

By far the best exhibit is the Journey II: The White House Years. The best chapters of this "journey" include: The Whispering Gallery, a scathing display of the criticism Lincoln received by opponents and media while in office; The War Gallery, a collection of stories, pictures, and animations from the Civil War; and the Gettysburg Gallery, a powerful display of Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address, reminding the visitor of terrible price of the war, and the tremendously beautiful vision of human dignity and value, regardless or race or color, that it inspired.

I discovered the crown jewel of the entire experience in our final ten minutes in the museum. There is a temporary exhibit entitled Blood on the Moon that covers the conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln, and in that exhibit are the gloves and a piece of the shirt that Lincoln wore when he was killed. Both are still stained with Lincoln's actual blood. Very sad, but at the same time, it gave me an incredible feeling to be staring at the life blood of Abraham Lincoln himself. On that shirt was Lincoln's very own DNA! It brought the history and tragedy of Lincoln's story to life like no presentation or book ever can.

That awed excitement I felt, the realization of the mythic, could it be just a small hint of what we will all feel when Christ returns and we see our God face-to-face? I hope so.