Tuesday 19 May 2009

Back Home

We arrived back home last evening from our weekend away at St. Martins. What a wonderful campground. If you've never camped there before, please give it a try. It's right on the ocean. And the owners, Byard and Linda Moran, are fantastic!

I went to the Ladies' Retreat on Saturday afternoon. Kim Cook, one of my adopted daughters, spoke on REST. Originally, I was supposed to speak on rest, but alas, now I am actually trying to rest rather than speak on it! Kim did a great job. I was very proud of her. Angie, another daughter, created beautiful framed primitive pictures with the word REST. They made you want to rest just by looking at them. Kyla was the organizer of the retreat and she did a wonderful job. I was very encouraged to be there, and the love the women showed me. I sat wrapped up in a quilt all afternoon. At the end of the evening, I sang "Just As I Am." I never realized the beauty of the words of that old hymn, even though I've been singing it all my life. "Just as I am, without one plea..." Exactly...

Sunday morning, Doug was able to make it to church. I rested some more. It rained all day. But despite the rain, M., F., and B., came to visit me in the afternoon and we had heartfelt conversation. I was encouraged once again, and I hope I helped them. After supper, Doug and I had a sleep on the couch, as we had to prepare to watch the "Survivor" finale for three hours. Since we have no TV in the RV, we had to go up to the recreation building and watch it. I took some snacks so it seemed like we were going to the movie theatre. From 9 pm til midnight we sat and watched this crazy show. Thanks, Nat! But J.T. won and I felt like crying. He was a player of integrity, and I think everyone wanted him to win. He was the 'sole survivor.' Perhaps the show spoke to me on a deeper level, do you suppose?

Monday I slept in again and read my book, "Ain't No Valley," a work of fiction I had in the RV for the past couple of years, but never cracked it open. It is comedic yet dramatic, and I've learned quite a few life lessons so far (Sharon Ewell Foster is the author). After a walk on the beach and lunch, we had another nap on the couch, and about 3 pm headed for home.

We didn't want to leave the RV when we got home, so I prepared supper and washed up the dishes, pretending I was still in St. Martins. In July we plan to go back for an extended visit.

Now it is Tuesday. It is beautiful outside, and I want to go out and walk. I really want to go to the gym. Do I have the energy? We'll see. Tonight is Mom's spring concert (Fredericton Ladies Choir). We'll be going to that, and I'll be soaking up the songs. They are even performing selections from "Mamma Mia!" I hope I don't dance in the balcony, since I am the "Dancing Queen."

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Deb,

It was such a blessing to have my mom come to the retreat and rest. I felt more restful just having you there.

Love you,

Kim

Anonymous said...

I'm glad to hear you had a nice weekend camping, although it was a bit damp on Sunday. I was in St. Martins on Friday and hiked part of the Fundy trail between there and Fundy Park over the weekend.

The next time you see Byard tell him Greg says hi. He was my first supervisor when I started work in Sussex.

Anonymous said...

Sounds so relaxing. Glad you had a good time. Wish I could do something like that as I'm feeling a bit burnt out from lack of sleep.

Krista