from her hands unto mine~

Hello my dear friends and family from our home here along the Western Slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.  This day has been a long one, marked by many miles that were travelled by me in order to get home to Montrose from my old home in Kansas.  I made it and as I sit here this evening and think about the day's journey, I give thanks for the many blessings that were mine.  I got pretty tired a couple of times but managed to keep safely pushing onward to the west. Colorado weather was much better for the return trip and the sunny skies definitely lifted my spirits.  The car ran great with no mechanical issues to deal with and when I finally made it back to Montrose, I didn't have to come home to an empty house.  Someone was there waiting for me and I give thanks for the "extra blessing" that is mine. 

Mike and Sally the dog got along fine without me but they both seemed glad that I decided to get back home again today.  You know how it is...we just get used to people being around us and when they are gone, you tend to miss them pretty much.

I decided to leave Hutch yesterday evening about 6 and make the journey towards the west with the intention of getting as far as the Ford County, Kansas town of Dodge City.  At the kind invitation of my dear friends, the Godbey Family, I planned to stop for the evening and get a good night's rest there before journeying on to Colorado this morning.  Given how tired I was during the latter part of the drive today, I'm surely glad that I did.  When I pulled into their driveway at around 9 last evening, Sarah met me at the door with open arms of welcome.  What a great friend she has been to me.  We first met several years back when I helped to take care of her mother, Neva Jane, at the Wheaton Greenhouse in South Hutchinson, KS.  We have been friends ever since that first meeting and even though we live so very many miles apart now, our friendship has remained intact.  God blessed us.

We had a bit of time to catch up on the latest of news in both of our families and how wonderful it was to hear about how Neva Jane is doing as well as all of the members of the Godbey Family.  I loved looking at the photos of all the grandkids and with a smile in my heart and on my face, I remembered the days when they were all so much smaller.  Their visits to the Wheaton House brought a lot of joy not only to their great-grandmother but  to all of the other residents as well.  Time flew by~

Before I went to bed, Sarah gave a package to me and said that it was mine.  Inside of it was a the most beautiful thing, something that I had secretly been wishing for many years now.  During the time that I took care of Neva Jane, I always admired the prayer shawls that she had made for her family members.  Those special pieces were filled with love and carried with them much meaning.  Now Neva Jane had knitted a new prayer shawl and the blessing of having one this time was to be mine.  Tears came to my eyes as I held that beautiful piece of craftsmanship made by the hands of someone I have always held near and dear to my heart.  As I lay down in bed to sleep last night, I wrapped the prayer shawl around my shoulders and drifted off into a deep and restful sleep.

I left Dodge City this morning about 5:30 and as I started out towards Highway 50, something told me to stop and pull over so I did.  There along the side of the road I sat for a moment and I reached over for the prayer shawl that was in the seat alongside me.  I wrapped it around my shoulders, closed my eyes and bowed my head in the very early morning darkness.  I prayed that God would give me a safe journey and that if I had any trouble along the way that I would know what to do.  It was really a simple prayer as they go but just as soon as I said my "AMEN" to it, I felt pretty much at peace with the journey.  For several miles I kept the shawl about my shoulders and when I would get anxious about anything, I found myself rubbing my fingers along the edges of it.  As I did so, I remembered the fine Christian woman whose hands had created it just for me and I was at peace.  Her talent for knitting provided a sweet blessing for me, a tired and worn out traveler who needed the gift she had provided more than a person would ever know.

I made it home here to Montrose about 3 this afternoon and I am thankful to finally NOT be inside of a moving vehicle :) There is much to do around here before the morrow comes and so it would be wise for me to get busy.  It was a wonderful 4 days back home in Kansas and for all of the people I was able to see and spend some time with, I am thankful.  The hours always pass so quickly and try as I might have, I didn't get around to all of the places that I had hoped to. 

Tomorrow it is back to the "18" and school as we start yet another week.  I am thankful to be so blessed my friends and if you are reading this, then YOU are a part of that blessing as well.  I don't say it near often enough but I will say it now.  Thank you for being my friend, for loving me and caring about what happens to me in this life.  I hope to do the same for you as well.  Life is good and we need always to remember that.

Good night everyone and may peaceful sleep be yours.

One of the kindest and most loving gifts that I have ever received in this life.  It brings me much peace and joy.

Thank you Sarah for the "welcoming" Kansas sunflower.  It will help me to always remember the kindness that you and Jim have always shown to me and to countless others as well.  God bless you!