". . . little shall I grace my cause

In speaking for myself. Yet, by your gracious patience,

I will a round unvarnish'd tale deliver . . ."

(William Shakespeare's Othello, I.iii.88-90)

Monday, February 12, 2018

Last Night

A little over 26 months ago, just a few days after we moved from our Oklahoma rental home into what we thought would be our Oklahoma forever home, I took this picture:


Tonight I took this one:


"Forever" is looking different from what we had planned, and tomorrow we will leave this place behind. How fondly we will remember our time here. That view!--oh, that view. What a salve it has been to weary hearts. How many mornings and evenings we have passed just sitting, gazing, basking in sunrises and sunsets more beautiful than we could have ever envisioned, drinking coffee, or wine, or caipirinhas as we watched a boy and his dog romp among the fireflies or head across the common ground to feed the neighborhood horses some apples.

I'm sad to think of leaving a home we have loved as much as any place we've ever lived, but in a few years that boy is going to be headed off to college, and his dog is going to feel less like romping, and as much as I pictured this view with grandchildren in it some day, I think maybe it's better that on Wednesday morning we will be turning over the keys to a family of 7 who needs the space and yard a lot more than we do at this time in our lives. I am so thankful for the short time we had here, even as I trust that God has wonderful times in store for us about 375 miles up the road in a place called High Ridge. I think the grandchildren, if and when we have some, will be able to find us there, don't you?

I'll be back in a few days to post our first pics of our new home. :-)


3 comments:

Ewe said...

Beautiful words, Cheryl. I'm bawling and I never even visited you in Oklahoma! I guess it's just similar feelings when we had to leave a place we thought would be our forever home... Just a reminder, you can have your coffee or caipirinhas no matter what the view-it's more important who you are having that wine with!

Cheryl said...

And no, we didn't watch both sunrises and sunsets over those trees. :-) Still, we basked.

Cheryl said...

My comment above was just an addendum to the post, not a response to your comment, Ewe, which I just saw this morning. Thank you for the kind and wise words and for the long-distance empathy. Change is never easy, is it? And yet you're right--it's so much more important whom we're with, with #1 on the list of course being our Lord who walks with us every step of the way. I once we get to the place we're going there will be brand new joys and adventures. But this one will definitely always hold a very special place in my heart.