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Park in the Fall

Turning onto a New Road

It is so easy to become a creature of habit, although much of the time we have no other choice but to stick to a routine because of our everyday circumstances and commitments. Occasionally a free day came along for me, and I loved them. I’d pack a thermos, all kinds of goodies for lunching or munching & I would take a road trip. Although every trip was new, I had several familiar ones where I would leave markers. The markers were for the beautiful wildflowers I’d discovered, or a deer’s resting den. Once in a while I turned off onto a new road, because it was an opportunity for photos or a possible writing inspiration.


One morning I’ve always remembered, because it was a cloudless sky & sunny when I left my house. About half an hour later, I branched off to this little tree-lined road that looked fascinating. As I did that it began to rain. It was amazing! A beautiful, soft summer rain. The sun was shining at my back, and the rain was softly falling in front of me. I parked, stepped out of my vehicle, and walked the short distance to a little clearing. I came upon an abandoned farmhouse with several little buildings around it. It was obvious it had been empty for quite some time because all the shrubs were overgrown. However, lovely perennials and wildflowers were growing on their own all around the house and flowerbeds.


The overgrown driveway was lined with daisies and huge orange tiger lilies, just as the scripture had been written about the lilies of the field. It did not matter whether anyone knew they were there or not, they bloomed continually and faithfully.


What really caught my eye and intrigued me the most was this: Welcoming curtains still hung in the windows. I stood there quietly, as if not to disturb anything, and I could hear the echoes of family gathered around the table or the owners looking out the front door to greet company for fellowship. It was so easy to just make assumptions that it was a home filled with love. I’m sure many meals were made with care here, and even though it had been abandoned for a long time, it still had an invisible welcome sign on it. I wanted to linger because I could visualize wildlife walking safely past that house.


Do you sometimes wonder how you will be remembered? Will people stop and say: “Oh We used to love to go to their place and visit”?


I hope that I will be remembered that way, and I believe the Lord gives us that gift of hospitality. I sure could feel that gift had blossomed well on this property and home. The Lord visited many places when He walked on this Earth. While many doors He knocked on were welcoming, others were not. I remember the scripture that says even a cup of water given in My name will not be forgotten.


We were raised in a home that was hospitable at all times, and all our neighbours knew that. They rarely drove past without stopping in just to say hello, or to see if we needed any groceries or mail picked up in town. These are lovely memories I have of our home life and I pray that I have learned something from that throughout my life.


Of course, once the neighbors had left, my mother would instantly start baking something so there’d be fresh biscuits or cake when they dropped back in with the order she had given them.


I was always excited about finding a treat in the bag, or one of my comics or books that had come in the mail. Before I left that old place that morning, I picked some tiger lilies that were growing along the driveway and took one photo of those curtains still with the tiebacks in place. I brought these orange beauties home to enjoy on my kitchen table, and somehow I knew that the owners would have liked that. I’m sure those flowers and many others had adorned their own dining room table.


We never know what impact our actions will have, what footprints we may leave, or what we will find when we take a new road. Dear Readers, my hope for you is that you have a place of your own that is always welcoming, or one to go to whenever you need it. Circumstances in everyone’s life may have arisen that have made it necessary for you to turn onto a brand new road yourself at some point, or perhaps it’s just ahead. I pray that it will feel welcoming, and with your own gift of hospitality, all who enter in will feel welcome wherever you are.


Have a Blessed Easter. Marlane.


Excerpted from the book "101 Roads" by Marlane Lillian Mazur.

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