God's Gift

Listening to the overflow from the spring house, pouring onto the rocks…. Distant birds calling and fluttering… a small frog chirps alone in the ditch… ever so often the dew drops fall from their resident leaves, splattering on ones farther down the line…. The smell of wet moss and the musty trees, the warm though clean air, and hints of smoke from the fire pit.
It’s another new morning at the place we so lovingly refer to as “God’s Gift”. My Grandparent’s cabin is one of the most calming places I know that exists. Far out in mountain country, it is tucked away among the Silver Birch, Hemlock, and Pine Trees. There is a rushing Creek just a walk away that facilitates hours of swimming, stone skipping, and of course Creek Sneaking. Now, not to be confused with Robinson Crusoe, we are not in the middle of the wilderness apart from all humanity. There are plenty of neighbors just a stone’s throw away… both two and four-legged alike… oh, the Black Bear stories we’ve heard. The road is just on the other side of the trees and corn field where mostly motorcyclists frequent. Just a quick trip down and around the corner is Becky’s Sunset Ice-cream shop. I always get the same flavor there, Teaberry, mostly because I can’t seem to find it anywhere else than in this part of the country!

Oh the times I’ve spent here as a little boy… The campfire dog roasts, the long walks down the gravel road… I remember when my dad and grandfather put up the swing-set for us three kids; just board across two Silver Birches, rope, and board seats…. A child’s freedom. This is where I learned how to roast the perfectly browned marshmallow for the perfectly sticky s’more. This is where I learned to bait a hook with the night crawlers we bought at the country store… the same store we got a bag full of penny candy each visit. This is where I learned how to differentiate Hemlock and Pines, and probably more importantly, what poison ivy looks like… though I still have trouble with that one.

But of all things big and small, the theme that this place sings with every creak of the floor boards or old screen door hinges is “Togetherness”. It’s because of togetherness that the life I have is the way it is… because my grandparents decided that togetherness is better than not … for 50 years. The cabin has been in the family for nearly thirty years now, with at least ten more to go I would say. The older I grow, the more I reflect on these times and places, realizing that it may be a few years before I return… but for now I thank God for the time I have and have had.

Thank you Lord… Thank You for this wonderful Gift.