Reflection

 

This past weekend I had an adventure. I don't get to go on many and I'm not really that adventurous in the first place so this was a treat! I headed up into the mountains of North Carolina to visit Nancy and go through a one day conference she runs called Footprints to the Potter's house. That weekend was such a time of rest. I didn't even know how many burdens I had been carrying until I started simply talking about my life with Nancy.

 The mountains are so beautiful. I looked like a dog in the car, my head going this way and that, trying to take in everything at once. My mouth was open and I'm sure at some point my tongue was hanging out in awe at the landscapes around me.

The sounds of the stream outside my window at night soothed me like no music ever could. I heard God speak more clearly than I had in a very long time. It wasn't that I couldn't hear Him in civilization...it was that I was trying to fill the silence myself. Normally, I would journal or say a prayer and not wait long enough, most of the time, for Him to answer me back. When I went out to the stream to pray and eat lunch I heard Him whisper; "Just let me talk. Don't journal. Don't look up anything in your Bible, yet. Just listen." So I did. He gave me Psalm 91 as my theme for this year to memorize. Funny, He's been showing me a lot of chapters about fear. Maybe He's trying to tell me something. Novel idea...right?? 

Psalm 91

 ¹ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
   will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.^[a]
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
   my God, in whom I trust.”

 ³ Surely he will save you
   from the fowler’s snare
   and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
   and under his wings you will find refuge;
   his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
   nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
   nor the plague that destroys at midday.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
   ten thousand at your right hand,
   but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only observe with your eyes
   and see the punishment of the wicked.
 ⁹ If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”
   and you make the Most High your dwelling,
¹⁰ no harm will overtake you,
   no disaster will come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
   to guard you in all your ways;
¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
   so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
   you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
 ¹⁴ “Because he^[b] loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
   I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him;
   I will be with him in trouble,
   I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
   and show him my salvation.”

These were the other ladies who attended the conference. I was the youngest. I loved being around the other women. I think women my age need to be mentored by older women. I learned so much from them in such a short time. The only one missing from the picture is Sandra who co-ran the conference with Nancy. Sweethearts! There was such a difference in countenance when everyone came back from talking with Jesus. It shouldn't surprise me, but He always seems to. 

It doesn't take much to impress me. I don't really need a lot. Give me the stars, the ocean, the mountains and I'm pleased. I had two out of three. Life was wonderful.

 

Nancy and I on the steps of the church. She is my new surrogate grandmother. We bonded over Newman O's and art. 

I loved exploring the countryside. I found places that people don't get to see out in the suburbs. I automatically wondered about the pioneers who came before us as we drove around the mountains in Nancy's car. It's hard not to, because a lot of the land looks untouched and wild.

 I added a couple of macro shots to show you the beauty I found. Nancy kept saying she wished I was around for spring when everything bloomed. I found enough loveliness in the moss and the dead trees. Like I said it doesn't take much to make me happy when it comes to nature. 

 I love moss and found it everywhere. I even painted it at one point. There must be some sort of hidden meaning that! As I left the mountains I felt better prepared for what is coming. I felt God was giving me a period of rest before my life gets a little more topsy turvy. I feel so grateful to have been able to go. I'm so blessed.