Dear Reader:

A “God Wink”  appeared out of nowhere yesterday to restore a lot of faith in the universe and the messages it sends to each of us individually…especially when we need to hear it tell us … “Don’t worry…everything will be alright.”

When Honey arrived yesterday morning to drop off the apple tree she told me she forgot and left the top piece…the pineapple…apparently at home…she would return later and “top ” it off after running errands.

The more she talked about the number of errands she had to run yesterday the more apparent it became that Santa’s Christmas Eve list paled in comparison.

Honey looked tired…she admitted that “Murphy’s Law” had about ‘done them in’ at the house Wednesday night. If something could go wrong…it did.

Today at 2:00 they are closing on their life-long Summerville home (with Tommy and Kaitlyn handling the final closing)…but before that could happen…a lot had to take place…the last of the furniture moved out and into the trailer. (It seemed to be more furniture than what they remembered…to their tired dismay.)

Honey said she had brought groceries for them to eat… so she went to put them in the refrigerator and to her disappointment…some workers had unplugged it…it was smelly and still had decaying food inside. Not what either wanted to face before they could rest and get something to eat…but they got it cleaned out and then realized the cable had been terminated so no channels were available…at least the ones worth watching.

They decided to hit it ‘early’ only to be awakened by the heater making strange noises…they realized every sound was magnified…because the house was basically empty…except for the bed they were sleeping in and some odd and end pieces of furniture. Neither slept well.

Honey told me she was so tired from lack of sleep that every time she looked at her list of things that had to be taken care of yesterday…the list grew longer.  It made her feel more tired.

Honey had only been gone a few minutes when the doorbell rang. A young man (UPS carrier) was standing on the porch. He wanted to talk to me about the “teeny tiny” package he was holding…it was something I had ordered way back in November… apparently from the date on the package he said…he just found it… caught behind a mat in the back of the truck that had prevented it from being seen.

He was very apologetic for the delay…I laughed and told him I couldn’t even remember what it was…so it couldn’t be that important and these things happen…Have a Merry Christmas! He looked terribly relieved.

Curiously I opened the small little package and realized that I was staring at a special gift I had ordered for Honey…knowing that the low country was their life in the past…and the mountains now would be their “forever” home.

It was a necklace that had mountains attached to the “chain.” I was so excited…it came on the perfect day….the last day I would see Honey before they left for the mountains. What a wonderful coincidence that the young carrier found it after all these months and returned it on this special day.

When Honey returned…I sat her down…and told her she had to rest long enough to listen to a story…because I just realized it was a “God Wink” story…(I had fixed her and Mike some sandwiches and chips to take with her home.)

I had, also, written the story out for her on a Christmas card…and then told her the message the universe sent her…and Mike. The necklace was attached to a cardboard with the message

“The Best View Comes After the Hardest Climb.”

I reassured Honey that moving is hard…no way to avoid it…but everything was going to work out…and her beloved mountain home was waiting on them to return back to it “forever.” (And their view from their deck overlooking Hendersonville is stellar!) The “Best” was yet to be! God works in mysterious ways.

Honey was quite moved…a beautiful way to end our Christmas exchange this year…an unforgettable memory.

So until tomorrow…..Honey and Mike…Go ‘move those mountains’ with your generosity, kindness,  amazing talents, faith and hope. The mountains are waiting your return. Merry Christmas!

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

Look what Honey left for me…an old antique planter from the famous Pine Forest Inn...I added a cabbage to it and put it by the garden gate. I am beyond excited having a piece of rich Summerville history to add to my garden!

***Mandy sent me this latest photo of Jake and now it is official...”All he wants for Christmas truly is his two front teeth!’ :)

I pulled in one of the pretty pink poinsettias that I thought might get injured by the cold temps last night and put it on the front table…forgot I had a candle in that window.

***While reading last night…I kept seeing a tiny flicker of light out of the corner of my eyes…and finally realized it was the candle light flowing through a space in the poinsettia…quite lovely!