We returned to Virginia from Florida late in the day on July 4th. We had emptied my mother-in-law's house, after its unexpected contract for sale came just twelve hours after the house went on the market. She had been gone for six years. We had memorialized my sister-in-law's life, after her unexpected passing. She had...
On Saturday, Joanie's ashes were tossed into the lake she loved. The lake where she lived for much of her life. The lake I live on now, in the house where her mom (my mother-in-law) grew up. Her memorial service was beautiful. Because You planned it, Lord. And You showed up in very personal and...
I had never heard that word "chemoesque," Lord. Maybe because it doesn't exist. She made it up, the nurse who was trying to take my blood. It's the only word that described what she found. The condition of my veins. Hard. Like rock. Five years after the very aggressive Chemo I was given. To fight the...
Has it really been SEVEN weeks since I last posted here, Lord? SEVEN -- the number of Perfection? Completion? Does this mean my unusual silence here is coming to a close? I haven't been silent, of course. I have been writing -- to You and about You -- every single day! Often, several times a...
A lot of people are struggling right now... aren't they, Lord? Struggling with the world as it is, yes. But even more so, struggling with the weight of their past decisions. Wrestling with regrets. Wanting to make the "wrongs" Right. Or, at least, to find Forgiveness. Even Reconciliation. I spoke with several such people recently....
Their presence was too obvious to ignore. And too ominous. I saw them with my own eyes. Men with machine guns. On every street corner. A little disconcerting, on the busy city streets. I asked our host who they were and why they were there. He said, "For protection. To help keep the peace." Apparently,...
International airports are a Shopper's Paradise. Getting from check-in counters to departure gates is never via the shortest path. Instead, passengers are strategically directed to pass by every possible last-minute, duty-free, spontaneous purchase. We arrived early at the Queenstown airport. Ready to depart from New Zealand and fly to Australia. Sorry to leave the beauty...
We were heading out on another excursion. This time, via steamboat ferry on huge Queenstown Lake. We showed up for breakfast at our cozy B & B. It was at the normal time... but the dining room was empty. My Honey got there first. His brief chat with our hostess must have been Heaven-sent. When...
Brown trout. They're hard fish to catch... aren't they, Lord? Maybe that's why they grow so big and fat. Gorging themselves on plentiful food with very little competition. We spent the last two days trying to catch a few. Or even one. All to no avail. The first day, we floated on a huge lake...
It started yesterday when our ride to the airport called just before departure. She was sick with the flu. Fortunately, she sent a replacement. We arrived at the airport and checked in curbside. For a domestic flight connecting to an international one. We presented our passports. They asked for our visas to enter that foreign...
