“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest,” Mark 6:31

Do you have pleasant places you visit in your mind, happy places of days gone by when life was good?   One of my favorite places was a cabin my husband and I purchased in the north woods of Michigan along the AuSable River.  It was a place of constant wonderment to this city girl brought up on the busy streets of Detroit.  What a delight to breathe in the cool northern air with a steaming hot cup of coffee and my Bible!   Many early mornings were spent sitting on the deck enjoying the calls of the wildlife around me!

In my mind’s eye, I remember my husband and his parents, so strong and healthy before the ravages of cancer and heart disease took them from us.  In my thoughts, I sit with them on our deck enjoying a breakfast of wild blueberry pancakes, Fairview sausage and steaming cups of freshly brewed coffee.  The conversation is humorous and interesting, sprinkled with spiritual questions and answers.  Occasionally, a deer family will come to the river and lap the cool water, or wild turkeys will make a home in our front yard.  Once we saw a bald eagle soar up the river looking for his breakfast.

My husband bought the cabin for our family, but his heart’s desire was for others to use it as a retreat for no cost.  Soon there arrived a steady stream of friends who came to enjoy the beauties of nature:  college students on break to relax, canoe and study their Bibles, or in the winter to ride snowmobiles in the pristine wonderland; honeymoon couples spending their first week together; young families who couldn’t afford a vacation were invited to enjoy a week in the north woods; children hunting “crawdads;” home missionaries and foreign missionaries relaxed from their work in the peaceful environment; men and women organized  retreats and forever after spoke of their adventures canoeing and tubing down the river; our first grandchild at six months began his love affair with the north country; never to be forgotten memories!

Now, the years have passed, the children have grown, the grandchild is married, but I thank the Lord for the sweet memories of the cabin on the river!  When Jesus told the disciples to come to a quiet place and get some rest, He knew we needed a place of serenity to be still, rest in His loving care and hear His voice.  I thank the Lord for my husband’s foresight in acquiring a place to be used for God’s people to renew their spirits before going back to their daily routines.  It was a gift from God!  “If you….know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!”  Matthew 7:11

 If you have a child or loved one in your life, do something with them to make a memory.  Go somewhere, take a walk in the park or just be  together, it will be an investment.  Years from now when things get hard or life gets tough, they will need some pleasant places to visit in their minds.

Your friend, Jean