Another find today:  Yellow!  LOTS of yellow!  Love these wild flowers!  They made me happy, though the morning had been somewhat mellow after some work plans changed and I found myself trying to fill up time until my next appointment.  What a nice surprise to come upon a field that smiles!  And...it was contagious for I found myself grinning like a possum and racing around trying to get enough pictures to satisfy!  Funny how God's colorful paintings can simply work miracles in a single heart!  

So....I found this place today...a little south of Imperial Missouri...while I had a little extra time on my hands (which is rare these days). Who'd have thunk it?  Right there - was the very spot where 34 people died from a horrible train wreck.  I did a little hunting tonight and read that one family of 6 all died in the incident after a train rear-ended another train on a bridge over a creek near the Mississippi River there.  The  name of one deceased was Alice Cooper - interestingly enough that is also my maiden name.  Perhaps we were related?  As I read through the newspaper article from Aug. 5 1922, it is also interesting to notice how graphic the explanations of the entire wreck were, how different people lost their lives, and the miracles of others who survived. What a tragedy.  I'm sure I know someone who has a relative or friend who was lost during this horrific event in history.  

Today's lesson:  The unexpected happens - cherish life's blessings.

I was sitting at a sandwich shop between job runs today thinking I'd relax and write a little.  One of my clients had cancelled and I just wanted a place to sit since it's too far to drive home and back to a later client in the same area.  I had looked for a quiet place - a park - a country road - a shade tree - anything.  However, I soon found that there were few of those kind of places - at least in that area.  

I remember when I was young, in my little town, there always seemed to be a gravel road to wander down.  A  place to pick flowers or walk.  My family have always been hunters, fishermen and mushroom hounds.  I'm not even sure where we were much of the time in those days of picking black berries, finding turtles and avoiding snakes and ticks!  But I know that we were able to enjoy the outside - beyond our back yard.  How fortunate I was to have those memories and that kind of freedom!  

And there I sat in a bustling eatery with a driving music radio station determining the choice for my audible listening "pleasure."  My senses suddenly were no longer stimulated by the hoped for flitting butterfly or a bubbling stream, but rather by colorful potato chip choices and the sounds of an adolescent be-bopper singing about loving someone's body.  I'm not knocking potato chips or romance, but for the love of solidtide, couldn't we forfeit just one or more of the above on such a grand spring day as this?!  

And so I sat.  With any choice of sandwich topping or soda flavor I could ask for.  I sat.  While the delivery truck roared to the front door and the uniformed guy brought in yet more potato chip choices.  I sat.  And I watched a small bus load of teen-agers parade in with yet their own head phones and drum beats as they giggled and teased, managing to pick out their flavor of potato chips and lunch meats.  I sat.  And, well, I suppose I WAS inspired and I DID begin to write - about missing solitude!  I suppose.....I adapted.

Rural America.  A picture of callused hands and hard-working people who have loved the land and learned the joys and disappointments of its offerings.  It is places of the soul where pride and integrity find balance and depth.  It is home where breathing the air and knowing seasons and change is a part of the blood and veins of its captivated dwellers.  It is about sleeves rolled up and dirty hands making a living, yet still embracing the open sky and sweet earthy surroundings.  

It is about working for the "boss" who commands the weather and circumstances that determine destiny from day to day and year to year.  It is about taking risks and praying for an outcome of provision and blessing.  It is about thankfulness for what is given and what is taken away.  It is about respect for creation and the God who speaks it into order and beauty.  "Our country tis of Thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee we sing."  

Indian corn

I spent the afternoon with these two.  Be still my heart...how fast they grow....and how beautiful they become - especially to GaGa.  Of course, who could love em' more?  After having raised 3 girls and finding out for the first time that I was going to be a grandma, I wondered if I could love grand kids as much as my grandmother loved me!  There was a bit of concern in my mind since there had been some health and disability challenges with one of my own children.  Frankly, I was tired and wondered if I would have the patience and desire to have babies around again.  I have to say, when that first curly-headed little bundle came into this world, I was stricken with so much grandma love that there was never another thought of whether or not I would feel the thrill of wanting to literally squeeze those little faces!  Every single time I see them the excitement mounts - right up until their cheeks are touching mine .  What a joy to see the wonder and curiosity in the eyes of these little ones.  What a pleasure to see them smile and reach for me....the one who was worried about how much she could love!  I now know how my grandma felt years ago, when I bolted through the door of her little home and jumped into her open arms!  

Spring.  The time of new life.  The season for rain and tender shoots to burst through the soil towards the warmth of the sun. Sometimes on those cold, wet, cloudy days and nights, it seems that the sun is so far away.  We wait and watch through windows blotted with water droplets.  We see the pine trees cry cool, clear tears while they shiver and endure.  Everything awaits warmth.  Our lives are no different.  

As long as I'm telling stories about peaceful experiences, I might as well include this one.  Yep, that's me - a long time ago - scuba diving off the coast of Maui.  No, it is not something I'd ever done before, and most likely something I will never do again.  But....if I could, I certainly would!  It was the most fantasy-filled activity I'd ever participated in.  What an enchanted place to be...under the sea!  It was whimsical, alive with color, yet silent.  An other-world encounter in slow motion. Underwater beauty defies imagination.  It is incredibly vast and mysterious, constantly introducing unique and vibrant life from out of its dark depths.  

What a delight to have been able to touch that world, if only for a short hour or two.  I will never forget the feeling of graceful rhythm and the rich beauty I discovered there - beneath the sea.  God didn't miss a beat - from spacious skies to the lower depths of creation.  His finger prints are there!

I have heard that sailing is a delightful sport.  I can only imagine the expansive feeling of gliding through glistening waters, beholding the view of "ocean meets sky" as it all surrounds a tranquil air-filled sail.  The lapping claps of ripples hitting the bottom of the boat and a distant sea gull calling are about the only sounds.  A different world.  Blue.  Dreamy.  Peaceful.  I took this picture while sitting in the sand on the banks of the Mediterranean Sea in Tel Aviv, Israel.  It was a surreal scene and an unbelieveable trip.  The land where Jesus walked indeed has amazing supernatural elements.  As much as I would love to be on a boat just like that, the view from the beach was just as fascinating.  I could hardly see that beautiful craft move, though it was in fact gliding ever so gracefully by.  Maybe one day I will experience this from a different angle - sitting underneath those billowy sails.  If not, this was one of many incredible joys of this journey.