Last night, we arrived safely back in Seattle after our trip to Banff. I lie in bed, unable to sleep, asking myself, “How can people question if there is a God, when we have evidence like this?”
When I look out at these mountains, my knees want to buckle in reverence–at how big He is.
My heart wants to cry out in praise that I don’t know how to utter.
None of us know for sure, what it will be like on the day when we finally see Him face to face, but sometimes I delight in trying to imagine it…knowing that no matter how far I let my imagination roam, He’s going to surprise me with how much greater He is.
I know that my most pure and deep longings come from Him and that I am bound by an earthly body that is incapable of all He will one day permit me to experience.
Do you think He’ll dance with me across these mountain peaks,
And race me down these hills?
Will He laugh when I sink deep into a snowy bank? Will I look up to see His face shining and His hand outstretched to pull me from the depths?
When I’m safely back at His side, will He remind me of all the other times He’s rescued me…times I didn’t even know about…times that I did.
Will I walk with Him down these rivers, with the mountains towering on either side? Will He tell me about the day He spoke them into being?
Will He say, “Watch this,” and create another mountain before my eyes?
Will He give me words to express my wonder? A song for my lips? Or will I press His hand to my heart, where He’ll be able read it best?
And when our day is ending and the adventures leave me spent, will He come and build a fire in the room that He’s prepared? Will I make a cup of hot chocolate and smile as He asks for extra cream? Would He really let me serve Him? Would I get to watch Him enjoy something my hands prepared?
Would we both sit by the fire, sipping warmth and talking long, of the next adventure we’d share together…all the things He’d like to show? Will He draw it out, knowing that expectancy is part of the joy, waiting and planning part of the gift? Would He remind me that we have eternity…and we’re going to fill it up?
Would I pull some crumpled papers, that I’d kept close to my skin, and place them in His hands–my toil, my praise, His greatest gift to me? Would I get to watch Him read them, watch a smile come cross His face–and know that I had pleased Him…Can you imagine the joy of pleasing Him?
As He tucks me in to covers, lays His hand upon my cheek, will I beg Him for a story? His side of one moment in my life–when He was orchestrating beauty that I could not see. Or a moment He shared with David, that the Scriptures didn’t record. Or what it felt like to speak to Moses from inside that burning bush.
Just a morning in the mountains, an encounter with the works of His hands. Oh for the words to tell Him all that He excites in my heart.
First, let’s talk about the house hunt. I’m really sorry, y’all. I’m not purposefully trying to be ambiguous. If you could come over and have a cup of tea, I’d tell you the whole complicated story. However, this is the internet, and we’re looking at houses in a place that also happens to be where most of the people who read this blog live. I don’t know how they’d feel about seeing their houses and land displayed on the blog…and I don’t know how smart it would be for us (for negotiating purposes in the future) for me to write out our desires right now. So, I am sorry to keep you in wonder, but I do thank you for caring 🙂 I promise I’ll let you know as soon as I can!
Now, that trip Dothan was not all lace under the stars. We also had some good time to get grungy with the girls in the open air.
Riding around with the two chicken wings in the back of the Gator.
Getting some horseback riding lessons from Daddy.
Going for a ride...aren't I looking lovely?
Panther Creek budding in Spring.
The joy of riding with Popon.
And the disappoint at the end of the ride.
After all that fun, we left the girls behind in Dothan…
And I got to use this!
And am looking out my window at THIS view!
Be back soon!
For months, Jeremiah told me that there was no way, whatsoever, that he would be able to get off work and fly to Dothan with me to look at houses. I whined and moped and, finally, bought tickets for the girls and me to go it alone. Then, literally the next day, he told me that he had five days off at the end of March…to go home and look at houses. Figures. So, after a juggle of jumbling decisions (which I’ll spare you), we decided that we’d all fly back south again…Boy am I glad we did!
Since this was going to be our last trip until we move back in August, Ashley (Jeremiah’s sister) and Dr. and Mrs. Maddox said they’d like to throw a little party to celebrate us moving back. I didn’t argue–I could tell Ashley had something brewing and I could hardly wait to see what it would be.
They did all the planning, invited a handful of Jeremiah’s (and my) closest friends, and shooed me out of the kitchen for two days. Then, on Saturday afternoon I was getting dressed when Ashley walked into our room. She was beaming–her God given gift of hospitality and creativity radiating from her like a sun ray. “Have you looked outside?” she asked.
“Is it ok to look?”
She nodded and looked towards the window.
I gasped and threw my arms around her neck…lots of squeals of excitement later, I ran outside with my camera:
She said she wanted us to have dinner under the stars.
On Grandmother's china and lace.
The appetizers were already on plates.
And cocktails were standing at attention.
I asked Ashley if we were getting married, again. It certainly felt like it.
While Mrs. Linda and Ashley finished the last minute preparations, Jeremiah and I walked out the front door and were greeted by this welcome sight:
I hate that Heidi was already leaning on Maggie's neck, because we added a few more to the wagon.
We bounced through pastures and down country roads, in a wagon filled with the laughter of lifetime friends.
When Dr. Maddox said he was going to take us down a wooded trail, we were all smiles and adventure.
And then we started diving for our lives as we discovered that this particular trail had not been clipped to quite the width of the wagon :).
We made it out of the woods, just as the sun was setting (with all eyes surprisingly still intact :)).
And found Ashley on the porch with drinks and appetizers ready.
We lingered there, enjoying the Spring evening and each other until it was time to light the candles and gather around the table.
There was salad with the nip of crumbled cheeses, the burst of pomegranate seeds, and Ashley’s special salad dressing. There were Conestoga rolls (for you fellow Dothanites :)), the buttery delight of apricot casserole, and fingerling potatoes with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
But then, THEN, there was Beef Wellington, that I actually got up from the table and went inside to take a picture of, just for you:
Beef Tenderloin, Duxelles, Prosciutto, and Puff Pastry. There were FIVE of them. And this is my idea of food from heaven's table.
Instead of the green peppercorn sauce, Ashley made a whiskey cream sauce to drizzle over her little slices of perfection.
I am not sure how I managed to miss taking a picture of dessert…probably because I had eaten so much that I could barely keep from rolling out of my chair. It was the Maddox pound cake (it deserves a post all its own), with fresh strawberries, whipped cream, and Linda’s decadent chocolate fudge sauce.
I think I may be a glutton.
After dinner, we lingered around the table for story time. With the stars, the warm breezes, and the candlelight, I could have stayed right there all night long.
But the harsh reality of real life and waiting babysitters brought us back from our fairytale. We hugged friends goodbye and were able to watch them leave with the joyful knowledge that this would soon be our permanent home.
There were a few we managed to cajole into a midnight music hour.
As we crawled into cool sheets, full of good food and friends, music and laughter, southern air and starry expanses, love and family, I asked Jeremiah “Do you feel good about our decision to move back to Dothan?”
We both just laughed.