The LORD will prefect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth forever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

Psalm 138:8

When I don’t write consistently here on the blog, stray gifts and updates pile up, and I find it difficult to know how to start a new post. Where do I begin? How far back do I go? How much do I even share? I stay off social media except for my cardmaking Instagram site, so my posts here can lean toward the lengthy side at times. I haven’t made any new cards in a few months, so there are no updates since April. If you have followed along here on the blog for some time, you know that John’s journey to health as a disabled veteran has been challenging. We have had to rethink our life plans and pivot in many areas. To keep the update short, five years ago, John was barely able to walk and couldn’t drive. Migraines and chronic pain kept him secluded and unable to work. Since then, he has filed for and was granted full disability. Also, since then, through physical therapy and various medical treatments, he is able to walk without assistance and can drive. Slowly, but surely, with determination and with a lot of prayer, his mobility has progressed, and his mind is clearer. So much so that we were able to recently buy a house! There have been moments of doubt whether or not God sees and hears, but we always come back to knowing that our life does concern Him and He is working through us. Through it all, I have kept up with documenting stray gifts. Friends and family who have been following along with this scavenger hunt are still sharing their great finds with me. Here are just a few of the latest. A description of each photo is below the collage.

Top Row (left to right): The first two photos were taken around the Grants, NM area. Between 1998 and 2001, we lived there and worked in a church with youth, music, and bus ministry. It was there that we met our friend Carolyn. Throughout the years and our many moves, we kept in touch and stayed close friends. In April of this year, she passed away suddenly at the age of 71. It was such a shock. We texted every week, sharing our new crafting obsessions. She was a quilter, and I am a card maker, and we always had a few projects going on at the same time. She loved my handmade cards, and I would send her a package of five every so often to write out for others. “I received your beautiful cards today”, she would text. “I’m going to write and send some out today”. She followed along with the stray gifts, often sharing things she found in a day. She read my blog and would text me that she enjoyed reading my updates. We have a long history – too much to share here. She impacted all three of us deeply in many ways. We traveled to Grants for her memorial service. We drove around to where we lived and the places we would go. We drove up Mt. Taylor, something we never made time to do when we lived there. It was a beautiful drive with bits of rain here and there. Carolyn loved the mountains and enjoyed collecting pinecones. While unpacking the other day, I found the box of pinecones she brought me last October when she came to see us. She was thoughtful in many ways, and we are thankful to have known her.

The third photo is a huge stray gift. When we moved back to Texas to be closer to my dad, we started looking at the possibility of buying. Everything went surprisingly smoothly – from obtaining a VA loan to the location of the house and the house itself. It’s a one-story home, and the layout is easy for John to navigate during the bad days with his health. It’s close to my dad, so we can be a help to him. So far, living here is going well.

Second Row: 1) As we were moving in, John and Jonathan surprised me with fresh flowers for our new home. They even remembered to bring a glass jar to put them in! 2) It’s like Christmas some days as we unwrap items we packed months ago. I found a pink glass jar a good friend had gifted me for my birthday one year and immediately made my favorite True Lime Black Cherry drink. 3) Roses are blooming at my dad’s house. This is a new bush we planted for him in the backyard.

Third Row: 1 and 2) Recently, my Aunt Carol shared a few stray gifts with me. “The deer picture was taken where we work at the day use park. There are 13 of them and some just had babies”, she said. She mentioned that there are 5 of them! We don’t see deer here in our area, so I always love it when others share their neighborhood nature photos. The middle image was taken from her garden. It looks so peaceful! 3) My friend Kara in PA sent me a view from her swimming pool. With triple-digit temps here in Texas, that sure looks refreshing!

I always hope to update the stray gifts more regularly, but a quote comes to mind that my friend Carolyn often said, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans”. So true!

Today, let there be peace within me, trusting that God has planted me right where I am meant to be. -Unknown