Blessings From The Heart

Last weekend Ardella and I had a booth at the Arts and Craft Fair at the city beach. We saw many old friends and customers and met some new friends through our art work. We were amazed at the number of people that have purchased our birds and it was nice to hear how they enjoy them in their homes.

We had a friend from Libby, Montana stay with us and it was nice to visit with her . Another couple from Libby were at the show with their beautiful handmade rockers. They are built to last generations and are so comfortable.

The biggest surprise came on Sunday morning when we had a lull in activity. I gazed across the lawn and saw a woman smiling and waving at me. It was Lisa ,a dear friend and former neighbor whom we haven't seen in over ten years. She ran across the lawn and gave me a big hug. As the excitement calmed down some I noticed a pretty young woman standing at her side. The eyes and smile were familiar even though she was about three or four when I last saw her. It was Kia , Lisa's daughter. Ardella soon joined us and the hugging was repeated.

I worked five falls in Alaska for Justin, Lisa's husband. Justin is a master outdoors man and owns a fishing lodge and hunting service in southwest Alaska. He is the best! We became friends with them when they moved to our neighborhood ; actually more like family than friends. They are great people and when they lived here their boy and girl were quite young and we would babysit them so the parents could have break once in a while. We had many fun times with the children. My favorite was draping blankets over the furniture to make an Alaskan camp and then we would hunt bears, caribou, and moose. Of course we always got our game.

We started reminiscing about the past . Kia has always been special to us ; it was more than those big dark eyes and joyful presence. Kia was born with a hole in her little heart and when she was about three the surgeons scheduled an operation to repair it. I remember the day like it was just yesterday. I went to the hospital to be with Justin and Lisa. We were all pretty quiet and the concern for this little girl wore on all of us. I remember praying with them for God to guide the doctors hands so this little angel could live a normal life. It seemed an eternity before the doctor appeared and the room went very silent. We heard " She is going to be okay." The next thing we knew was Lisa's legs were starting to buckle so we helped her sit down and absorb the good news. I went home and Ardella and I came back two days later to see Kia. I had visions of a little girl in bed with tubes and monitors attached to her. We were very surprised to see Kia setting on the edge of her bed wildly swinging her legs in and out and that big smile had returned. She immediately asked us to take her up a few floors to the nursery so she could see the babies. Lisa said it was okay so Ardella and I went, each holding Kia's hands as she excitedly walked down the hall toward the elevator. We couldn't believe this little girl had just under gone such a serious surgery. It was truly a day of joy.

Shortly after that our friends moved and we were not to see Kia for over ten years. On Sunday , Ardella explained it best to Kia. Ardella said" Honey, you are more than a memory, you are and always will be in our hearts." A heart blessing another heart; just how God would want it.