The Power of Story from Modern-Day Pioneers, Part II

Learning to live for something more

Feb 12, 2025

We continued to share stories as glimmering stars replaced the dimming sunset. The longer we all talked the more we realized we had in common. Shockingly, about an hour into the conversation, Joshua and I discovered we spent our childhoods in the same EXACT town! Here I was, sitting around a campfire in rural Kentucky (a place I never imagined I would live one day), with a man I met “in the middle of nowhere” while he was riding across the country on horseback, who literally spent his early childhood just miles from where I lived! Joshua knew every street; every area of the community. It was like we were both back in our hometown, approximately 2,500 miles from where we now sat, as we swapped memories. If that isn’t divine providence, I don’t know what is…

After this completely unexpected revelation, I continued to listen in awe as the family spoke of all they had endured and encountered since they first departed on their quest in April of 2022. Encircled around me were real-life, modern-day pioneers. In my eyes, they were full-blown heroes (though they would immediately reject that title). Like Daniel Boone from the days of old, they were forging a new path for others to follow. Theirs did not cut through forests, but culture. This family was bravely and boldly challenging how each of us sees life and our roles in it. Could life be about something more than the day-to-day grind? Was there something of greater lasting value to live for than all that is fleeting and temporal?

LEARNING TO LIVE FOR SOMETHING MORE - JOSHUA WHITE

We decided early on that were going to do this trip the old-fashioned way. We were going to work our way cross-country. We have done every kind of work you can imagine. It’s like career-day every day. We have been couriers, barkeeps, anything you can think of. We even hauled cheese for a church once – that was pretty fun.

It has forced us all to get out of our comfort zone, in particular, it forced me out of my box. I’m ashamed to say, that before this, I would have never considered working a fast-food job. Yet, one of my favorite jobs I’ve had on this trip was as a dishwasher at a restaurant for the homeless. Right then on that day, I realized how I had shorted myself in life by being so concerned with image and status. Now, I could care less about what people think of me.

When we were on the Old Spanish Trail going through Utah, I had one of my biggest revelations up to that point on the trip. I hadn’t paid my insurance or registration on my vehicles, I hadn’t bought new tires, and I hadn’t paid my mortgage for almost a year and a half at that time. And then, I thought all of the time and money I wasted on the King Ranch Ford instead of the base model Ford (that’s like a $30,000 difference). That was $30,000 I couldn’t spend with my family. That really hit home to me. We are so consumed with ownership. But it was the ownership, and the pursuit of it, that took me from my family.

Then, I started thinking about my $1,500 boots, my $1,100 cowboy hats, and everything like that. When we went out into the wilderness, all of that was left behind. I haven’t missed one bit of it. Even further, I am proud of the man I have become. Everything you see on me was given to me. Every single thing from my ring, to my hat, to my clothes. Every single item is connected to a person and a story. They represent a new friendship, a new family.

I was quoted once as saying “The common thread of America is loneliness.” And it is the truth. Even if houses are filled; husbands, wives, or kids are all there together, people are really lonely. They are seeking the phones to fill that gap. They don’t realize how lonely they really are because they are accumulating things and it appears to be enough. But I have been validated by countless older men across the country; we are going to work our lives away for this word “retirement.” But we are assuming that when it comes around, we will be healthy enough to enjoy it, or that the current day isn’t going to include inflation.

Today, we entered our final time zone. I’ve already started thinking about what it will feel like when we hit that Atlantic Ocean. Honestly, I’m really sad already. While I want my boys to go and build their own lives, I will be sad to leave all of this behind. This has been an incredible journey and we have seen and learned so much. When we first went out in April 2022, it was hard to imagine this day. We never set out for notoriety but we have learned on our trip that happiness is best shared. And since the Eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, we have learned the word “empathy.” I learned that we’ve been lied to by all of these divisive separations. We have traveled through SO many regions of people. We have much more in common than we know. Levi and Lucus are so blessed to have been able to experience all they have seen.

After all we have been through so far, now I don’t see the world as so bleak as I did before. I have this love in my heart now. I have seen the good in others. I have witnessed sacrifice and hospitality in ways I did not know were possible. We are just a small family, who are learning and gaining a unique perspective because we are willing to do something different. To make our own path instead of following what the world keeps telling us all to do.

I want my kids to live in a good world. I know so many of us want the same thing. Maybe you can join me in asking yourself today, how you can promote the good of others instead of just yourself.

What if we set our sights on a different ambition? What if instead of waking up and being hopeful for a big house with all the extras, we started asking God to take us where we are needed? What if instead of selfishness, we focused on surrender? That’s really such a fantastic word, the word surrender. If you surrender, the fear of the unknown will go away. And it’s hard to surrender, but if you fully do it – wow it's so powerful.

MEGAN

After being so significantly impacted by this family, and all they shared, I had trouble getting up from the campfire and walking away. Sensing my hesitation, Terra pulled me into a hug and said, “Don’t worry, we will see you again – I know it. Remember we don’t believe in coincidence.”

Whether I have the opportunity to personally meet any of them again this side of eternity, the deep truths shared by this beautiful family will forever remain etched in my heart. I am so incredibly humbled and grateful that God chose me to be one of the many honored to share their story. He truly is the Great Artist who weaves our individual narratives and lives together as an exquisite tapestry.

If you missed Part I of the White Family story, subscribe now to gain access to previous publications.

Are you willing to follow the path forged by Joshua and his family? To recognize the call to live for something more than the day-to-day grind; or the pursuit of ownership and materialism?

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