What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. Matthew 10:29-31 (NLT)Tonight is our last night at Angel’s Rest. Tomorrow, we hit the road again planning to meet with friends old and new as we travel home. This is a beautiful cabin with everything anyone could want. It is a little bit of paradise on earth. I get up every morning and wonder what it would be like to live here. To have a wide enclosed porch to put my desk and craft table. To have a deck with feeders to attract hummingbirds and warblers. To live near a waterfall surrounded by a forest. I tried to talk husband into moving here, but he didn’t buy into my plan. So, on our last day in northeast Alabama, we road the motorcycle around Lake Gunter. It is a huge lake created when a dam was placed across the Tennessee River. It took more than two hours to ride around a portion of it. We were amazed at the number of homes around the river all with huge boathouses some big enough for ten boats. The lake is even big enough for large barges to move products from shore to shore. We stopped at Lake Gunter State Park which we had heard was beautiful. Sadly, the park was hit by the April tornados and cabins, tennis court, campground, beach and boat launches were destroyed. The lodge was spared severe damage, but about a third of the trees were taken down. There was no rhyme or reason in what the storm took out. Two trees exactly the same size and type planted side by side and one was snapped off at the base while the other still stands. We saw more devastation as we rode through the Sand Mountain area, Rainsville and Powell, but again it was random. A sporting arena half gone and a church across the street whole. A mobile home park with units blown away and others untouched. I bought a local newspaper on the way home. I was shocked to see a story about a seventeen year old girl who was washed over Little River Falls an hour after we quit swimming there on Monday. It took two hours for them to rescue her from the bottom of the falls and while she is going to live, she is in pretty bad shape. When we got back to the cabin, we read an e-mail about one of the ministers at our church who was in a motorcycle accident and has a severe head injury now. Tonight as I admired the beautiful hummingbirds while getting eaten up by mosquitoes, I thought of the contrasts in the day and how typical this is of life. One minute such peace, the next a storm. We could miss so many of life’s joys because we are on the lookout for the tragedies. God is in control in good times and bad. He is cares for even the smallest of birds and cares even more for you. Don’t be afraid no matter what comes.
I was wondering if you were anywhere near where the tornadoes hit. We've had some scary thunderstorms in the last week and my son has been very scared. He doesn't understand why I am not. I know, that whatever happens, I'm in the best hands in the world. And I can relax and trust in that. He's a little young to get it – he's still new to this whole idea of God and peace amidst the storm, but I hope one day he will understand.
Thinking about the girl who went over the falls… It's always awful to hear of an event you just missed. Why that is, I don't know. I had that experience last week when I saw my friend in the grocery store. We went our separate ways and I heard the next day that he'd fallen at the store and was taken to the hospital. He died a couple of days later. Somehow, I wish I'd been there for him. To hold his hand, to tell the emergency responders who he was and what had been going on with him. At the same time, I am relieved that I wasn't there. To see my friend in such a state. I can remember him now, smiling at me as we chatted in the store. The last hug goodbye. But it still doesn't seem real.
I hope that girl recovers fully – and never gets that close to the top of the falls again.
I have friends in Alabama and we spent on week there a couple of years ago. The Boy mowed their 5 acres on a riding mower with the dad and we swam in a real lake sans gators and picked blueberries. I have looked at property (CHEAP) on and off since there longing for the simple life.