I Saw The Wink

I saw the Wink!!

When I started this blog and was training so hard for my first 3Day walk for breast cancer I  shared several times about the "Winks of God" along the way.
Life has been a little crazy since that first blog. So many things have happened to cause twists and turns and some pretty steep hills and quick descents in the road in this 'almost' year since that first post.
I completed that walk with the love and support of so many of you, old friends and new in September of 2013. It was an incredible journey that changed my life in so many ways. I was able to take two very dark times in my life and use them as fuel to create an experience that will forever shine light into those dark areas.
It taught me that through strength in training and determination I could do things I would have only dreamed of before. But most importantly, I found a true meaning of commitment to others. On days when it would have been easy to find an excuse for trimming a couple miles from my walk...it was my commitment to so many, and the trust you had shown in me that would remind me "my excuses were invalid."
Those 'Winks of God" (coincidences you may call them) always seemed to come at precisely the right moment....
  My favorite was the time I was checking my pedometer..sure I must be close to my 10,000 steps..and Pandora chose at that exact moment to play "10,000 Reasons to Bless The Lord"
The morning I had decided to take a walk up a mountain trail and met a gentleman whose wife was battling breast cancer. I left the encounter with her name for my shirt.
The morning I slowed to walk with an older lady...her daughter I would learn,had just been diagnosed with breast cancer. She was thrilled to tell her she would be carried on my shirt for 60 miles...
  The time I was on a LONG walk and feeling a bit tired and Chuck called to tell me his plant manager was making me PINK grips for my walking sticks...
 The moment shortly after starting when my phone 'pinged..you have a message' I stopped to find "a donation of $120 has been made to your acct"
The morning of a 17 mile when a little boy stuck his head out the window to say "I like your pink shirt lady" and I smiled all the way home...
I could go on and on..(I trained for 7 months ) But each of these experiences were opportunities of a reminder that He knew exactly where I was and what I needed to spur me on.
Following the walk our house sold and 2 weeks later Jim had a total knee replacement. Our neighbors left the day we signed papers and offered their home as a place of recuperation. Wait...did you see that wink?
Shortly after his surgery another friend offered 5 weeks in his condo in Florida.
SOOO..here we are in sunny Florida while Montana has been covered with snow and the cold has been record setting. Two months of additional recuperation time for Jim and a welcome respite from the busyness and stress of the past few months.
Periodically the thought will cross my mind that I am without a home to call my own. When someone asks "where do you live" I am in a quandary. A curious place to be at my age to be sure.
A few days ago a friend of another time in life informed me that she was going to, at sometime during this year surprise me with a blessing. She had made a decision to start the new year on a positive note, and was choosing the first five people to recognize her offer. She then ask for a favorite scripture or saying. Several went through my mind and I was at a standstill as which to choose. Then it happened..I remembered another time of decisions to be made..(when we lived in the same little town as my friend)...Jim's job was gone. Where would we live and where would we go....only this time we were living on a farm with cattle, and 5 children."What do we do???"
We were impressed to read the first chapter of Joshua in the Bible. There was much in that chapter that spoke to our hearts (go ahead...read it!) As I re-read it now and got to verse 9 I am pretty sure God smiled and gave me a wink.  The message to "Be Strong and Courageous and not to fear because He will be with me WHEREVER I go" was received loud and clear. I stopped to join Him in a smile and a time of peace.
For this moment I may be a Vagabond, traveling from place to place, but I am not lost and without a compass. He knows where I am and has my route and destination chosen. I just need to follow closely to the path and watch for His footsteps!! (Please Lord, no detours!!)
So thank you Gwen for being a part of this wink!!
I think there were two!
 First, my "chance"of seeing your decision to be a blessing.
Second my remembrance of Lakeview and another time of challenge and promise.
 I'm sure I feel Him smiling just knowing I caught the wink, and His gift of peace has been delivered, received and opened!!
How about YOU....have you shared a Wink with God lately?? Have ya taken time to look??   
Message me an share your wink!

Vagabond: A person who travels from place to place....

Vagabond...a person who wanders around from place to place without a home or a job.

Well, that describes us to a "T" as my Mom would have said.  BUT it is important to note that we did once have a job AND a home!! We have spent the majority of our years with a job of some sort and all of our lives, until the past few months,with a home. So I must make it clear it is by choice that we can be described as "true vagabonds."

It seems that even though we may not have a house to call our own, God seems to be moving us from place to place with a shelter included. At the present Jim and I have taken up residence in a friend's condo in sunny Florida. We are surrounded by senior citizens who seem anxious to welcome us into their community and share their favorite fun spots with us. So instead of being "strangers in the land" we are feeling like adopted wanderers.

The past few days have been spent 'settling in,' making things familiar and creating our gifted shelter into our home. Now it is time to get the maps out and put together an itinerary for the next month. Due to the fact that we have never visited Florida before there are sights to see, adventures to be had, and new friends to meet.

It is interesting that wherever we travel it is the familiar that we look for and savor a few minutes over a cup of coffee with a doughnut in hand :) Dunkin Donuts fits the bill just fine!!
 But now it is beaches, everglades, museums and amusement parks that are among the many destinations to be explored.
Anyone having a favorite Florida fun spot feel free to share!  I will endeavor to share our travels to keep you posted and would love to have you join us in the fun.