Anticipating Christmas at Whitestone

We just had to share this short essay from a frequent guest that shares the anticipation of enjoying Christmas at Whitestone. It’s beautifully written from from minister and singer DaRon Maughon.

Learn more about celebrating the Christmas season at our Tennessee bed and breakfast.

“In a few weeks, our family will make the much anticipated trip to a place we go once a year to celebrate the holiday season. It isn’t on an interstate or in a teeming metropolis. It’s off the beaten path. You have to leave the four lane existence, and slow way down. It has been a part of who I am becoming for 17 years. It’s a place where time cannot go, where frustration is not welcome, and where agendas are rarely found. The air there is different, and so is my breathing. The omnipresence of Love Himself is more evident to me here than anywhere I’ve ever been. The silence is never lonely, and at times, you can hear the birds and the wind inviting you to converse with them. The sun is more vibrant, and the rain is somehow more cleansing. This place has a tangible, mind soaking peace that embraces you from the moment you drive up through the entrance barn. Every toil, care, or anxious thought about the future ceases to travel with you when you turn at the welcome sign. They must remain “outside”. It’s a space of clarity, of comfort, and of encouragement. It is a haven of calm for the hurried heart, and it reconnects you with the One who gave that heart its first hopeful beat.

There is no way to describe in words what this place can do for a life without a clue. The depth of rest and relaxation one finds in this “sanctuary for the soul” must be experienced first hand. The people who await your arrival treat you as if you are the most important person in the world, because to them, while you’re there at Whitestone Inn, you are!

My heart beats fast with anticipation when I see the sign “Exit 352”! As I watch my speedometer go from 75 to 60 to 40, and the incessant “hum” from interstate travel disappears into the gentle whisper of a country trail, there is an exhale I experience that washes me completely, and a smile that emanates from my whole being! I’m gettin’ close. The road has narrowed, and the noise is growing ever quieter. My senses are awakening, and my mind is beginning to relax. Just a few more miles now to the taste of fresh baked cookies, Christmas music, the aroma of gourmet coffees, and the sound of chapel chimes. I can already see the sincere smiles on the faces of Paul, Jean, Gabe, Kevin, Linda, and the whole staff, and I know I’m about to be spoiled, pampered, and cradled in the arms of unrivaled hospitality and grace! This place infuses you with peace, with focus, with rest, and it helps you re-engage with the abundant life you have been given by Love Himself! It is indeed an oasis of refreshing, and a gift, that once experienced, will never stop giving and never stop drawing you back ever so often to its irresistible charms, and its inviting brand of sophisticated “down home” warmth. If you’ve never been, you’re missing out on experiencing one of life’s “blessed benefits”, and once you go, you’ll forever be under its “peaceful spell”! Whitestone Inn will become a part of you, and you too, like me, will count the days, the moments, until you once again, round the bend, descend that hill on I-40 east, disengage your cruise control, engage your blinker, and exit to the south, where that sign directs you, that sign that leads you to peace, to rest, to relaxing enjoyment…”Exit 352″. Maybe we’ll see you there. Merry Christmas!”