The dishes are done and the last of the life jackets and fishing tackle put away. Tired, happy, full, and satisfied. The last 5 years we have put our heart and soul and every paycheck into creating a home for us, for our family, for our friends, and for friends of friends. As much as I love my solitude, this lake life is a life better when shared.
I think of the grueling hours clearing thistles and brush and poison ivy and weeds with sweat dripping from our brow. Back then I don't think we knew to dream this big. We just pushed on each year with a new excitement and new ideas for how to love and live and share this place. And when hard times came and yes they did come, we held onto this place and a dream that just kept growing through God's grace.
I can tell you every flea market and roadside find that has been brought home, scraped, painted and placed lovingly. I can point to the plants that were given to us by guests and family when we didn't have anything but the beautiful bloom of a thistle to call a garden.
Thank you Lord for letting us rent this place from you. We plan to leave it better than we found it with enough memories, joy and stories to pass long after we've gone. For now we laugh, we fish, we float, we toast marshmallows and wine, and we gather. We gather together to enjoy each other in our beautifully feathered nest.
