Please note that the author of this artwork is unknown. I have included the image as it has been circulating around the net. The following is an email letter I wrote to my husband Harley yesterday evening. He enjoyed it so much that he suggested I share it with you all on my blog.
All day yesterday I felt overwhelmed, in a state of melancholy, and wondered what the future will hold for me. I would say that I did try to put on a smile but inside I was full of questions. At school I was saddened to see other people freely run down the stairs while I struggled and grasped the handrail firmly with each step. I wondered how long I would be able to walk, how long I would live, or if I would ever find a place in the world where I fit in, communicate and could contribute to my full potential.
The same emotional numbness carried with me when I returned home. I noticed another bruise on my body (the elbow this time) as it felt sore but I vaguely had recollection of how I received it. I thought about the couple times I slipped trying to hurry down the stairs in our house or nonchalantly gallop down them like I used to. With less padding to protect myself I now get large bumps and bruises on my keister. I wondered how long my body can take this without breaking something (afterall I am only 34!). It saddened me to think that a day may come that I could no longer use stairs and would have to move from the beautiful refuge of the home I love.
Before leaving for my walk with the dogs, I checked my email to discover the photo you see above. Seeing as it was a forward, I almost deleted without opening it. For some reason I did open the email and I was so immensely captivated by the picture that I saved it in my computer files. The image comforted me . I thought of the many times I have sat in the same serene pose while pondering life and talking to God. The letter below will fill in the rest:
"Today it stopped raining after I went to the post office and the sun started to come out. Our walk was fantastic! The field in the first part of the trail was very green and reminded me of when we drove past all the vineyards in Italy when it was slightly raining. As we walked the sun peered out more and it was so beautiful. It was slightly sprinkling but the colors of everything were amazing! The water in the creek is very high and you can no longer see the beaver dam. It was rushing really fast and the sun was pouring through the clouds. When we were to the field across from the pond I looked west and the sun was shining brightly in full grandeur. It was still raining and I could see the drops glistening in the sun. I thought to myself that surely there must be a rainbow somewhere. I looked over my right shoulder to the east and noticed the black silhouette of a bird soaring high overhead. As I gazed at the bird, I spotted an entire rainbow beginning to brilliantly splash out in the sky beyond. As my view came into focus, as if looking at a picture of an optical illusion, I noticed a second rainbow faintly making its appearance.
I wanted to walk the whole length of the pond in the sun with the hope that we would see the elegant great blue heron who frequents a spot camouflaged by the cattails in the shore along the road. As we reached the half way point, there he was standing triumphantly on a log in the center of the pond. He was magnificent and it was if he was awaiting our arrival so that we would see him. We stopped for a few seconds and he gracefully raised his majestic blue wings and rose into the air only high enough to come to rest at his usual spot.
We continued to the sign just past the entire distance of the pond before turning around. On the way back we enjoyed the remainder of the rainbow, the heron on his perch, and some wood ducks gently gliding along the mirrored surface of the water. At one point we stopped 3/4 of the way back to admire the glorious panoramic of white tufted clouds jutting out from the pale yellow sunset and baby blue sky beyond. Just gazing at the sky reminded me of one of my wide angle photographs I shot while attempting my highest climb on Mt. Rainier with my sister in 2003.
I have to tell you that before my walk I was in a sour mood because as soon as I got ready a big cloud moved overhead and it started to rain. I questioned why God would allow this to happen and if I should have gone to the flooded dog park in Redmond. But I had to pick up the mail at the post office in Carnation. For some reason God allowed me to wake up from my nap at just that time and go for a walk.
I pondered this and thought there must be a reason he is guiding me out here but I do not know why. I thought perhaps there would be a rainbow after I turn the corner before the Nestle farm. But alas there was none and only rain. I searched for a reason that I would be guided out there. I thought maybe I am going to run into somebody important at the post office. I was very saddened thinking of many things. In fact I was in a melancholy since yesterday evening and was starting to feel sorry for myself again.
Then as I exited the post office the rain started the lighten up. The sun was fighting to peer through the gloom. As we started our walk, a feeling of comfort overcame me as everything seemed fresh and renewed. I could feel the birth of spring starting and my spirits lifting. As I took each step, I recalled how long it has been since I took the dogs for a walk or that we have walked on that section of the trail. It felt good to be with them and they were overjoyed to go for this walk rain or shine. With each step we took the sun came out more and more as if it were a sign of things to come.
A strange thing occurred before I went for my walk. Somebody had sent me a forward which I was going to delete without opening it. Then out of curiosity or just happenstance, I decided to open it. Of course there was some message to forward on to people or whatever. I did not see those words. Instead it was the image in the email that caught my eye and the caption underneath it. The title of the image was "Be Still and Know".
Here is the message underneath:
God still sits on the throne.
Each and every one of us are going through tough times right now but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can. Keep the faith."
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