Together is a beautiful word.
Together is a beautiful word.
Last Wednesday to Friday, the Notgrass History team was together in the Smoky Mountains for a retreat.
Front row: Bonnie Henthorn from West Virginia, Ray, me, Donna Ellenburg, Dena Russell
Second row: Seth Dunham from South Dakota, Clayton Abrams, Nate McCurdy, John Notgrass, Titus Anderson, Mary Evelyn Notgrass McCurdy
The Smokies are pretty even in the wintertime.
Our son John came the night before the retreat and spent the night with us. He got here in time for chicken noodle soup and a game of Bananagrams.
It was fun to ride together over to East Tennessee, including a stop at one Buccee’s on the way and another on our way back home.
We were thrilled when John decided to stay with us Friday through Sunday nights. While the Tennessee “weather outside was frightful” and many fellow Tennesseans were enduring power outages and other hardships, Ray and I were blessed to be enjoying meals, games, hot chocolate, and beautiful snowy views with John.
An especially sweet blessing was that with our local roads being so icy, our church met online on Sunday. Ray led the service and preached the lesson, and John led the songs. When we learned that our daughter Mary Evelyn and her family were participating online from their home, my heart soared.
We got a bonus night last night after waking up Monday morning to frigid temps, more snow (unpredicted), and roads that had turned white again.
I couldn’t quite capture the snow glow on the hill I see from my office window, but it was beautiful.
Even John’s family at home encouraged him to wait one more day before braving the trip. What a treat for us! Wow! We are going to miss him when he leaves today.
On one of our snowy mornings, I noticed a hopping mockingbird outside the kitchen window. While I wondered aloud about how birds stay warm, Ray began to quote, “. . . keep himself warm and hide his head under his wing, poor thing!” Together he and I added more and more words until finally Ray remembered it all:
The North Wind Doth Blow
The north wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow,
And what will poor Robin do then?
Poor thing!
He’ll sit in a barn,
And to keep himself warm,
Will hide his head under his wing,
Poor thing!
Memory and worshiping together and games and chicken noodle soup and children at home . . . What sweet blessings from above.
Every good thing given
and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no variation
or shifting shadow.
James 1:17
What a lovely post! What a blessing that you had an extended visit with your splendid son! The snow on the mountain picture was exquisite even if it didn’t quite capture what you saw with your eyes. There is so much for which to be thankful. How full our hearts are even in this fallen world. What will it be like when we are home?
Yes, what will it be like when we are home!!