While I don’t relish snow and cold, I’m leaving soon to go see my family in Colorado. A Colorado Christmas is a beautiful thing, especially with grandchildren around. They’re getting so big! That’s the hardest thing about being away from them…seeing how fast they grow. My heart is torn…I truly feel “home” in two places so I have to split my time. And for now, home base is in West Virginia.

I’ve been watching with great sorrow as the Smokies burn. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve “almost” gone camping in the Smoky Mountains only to change my mind and now they will be scarred for the rest of my lifetime. The mountains you see in this picture have burned…twice in the time I lived there. I will never forget the Storm King Fire that took 14 firefighters. Young smokejumpers based out of Oregon. The fire started as one small pine that was struck by lightning on a Wednesday. That night, you could see a little wisp of smoke up there and we were all alarmed but we were told they were just going to let it burn itself out. Three days later, the hot, dry winds blew the fire into a conflagration the likes of which I had never seen. The sky was black and the sun was a dim red dot. The young firefighters were working below a ridge line when the winds shifted and they could not outrun the flames to the top. It was a terrible tragedy. A few years later, the Coal Seam Fire erupted in much the same place. I was the last car allowed to drive west through South Canyon. The flames actually arced over the highway and the river and hit the hillside to the north of the interstate like a tremendous fiery arch over my car. I was immediately engulfed in thick smoke and ash. I was too frightened to stop and too terrified to keep going. Fortunately, I got through it in maybe fifty feet. I cannot imagine what these people are going through. My prayers are with them. I have family there as well as my agent, Italia.

After the wildfires in Colorado, they flew helicopters overhead and sprayed a mixture of seeds and fertilizer and reseeded the mountainsides. And, within a couple of years, the only evidence of the fires were the crooked, blackened skeletons of piñon pine, cedar, and scrub oak. Our greenery is scarce to begin with in the Rockies. It’s not like the lush, green deciduous forests in the east and south. That will take generations to come back.

The fact there are forest fires this late in the year in a typically wet, humid area of the country is alarming to me. Pray for rain or snow to come quench these fires and save what’s left. Pray for the families of the victims. Pray for the survivors whose every belonging is gone.

And now, for some good news…Bernie can hear! I watched a live video feed Wednesday as they activated my former father-in-law’s cochlear implant. It will take a while for his brain to catch up and process the sounds correctly. I cried as I watched his face light up when he heard my daughter’s voice as she told him his children were watching from all over the country. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. They were greatly appreciated. ❤️

“Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭10:27‬ ‭NIV‬‬