Or Maybe Door Number Two...

That part in my last post about faith & hope?

Yeah. 

Thank you, God, for answering prayers.

For providing our needs. For honoring promises.  

For working miracles. Thank you.

And thank you to hearts & spirits that are open to help, 

even when they don't know why, or realize they are helping.

One.more.step.through.the.doorway.

I'll Take Door Number One...

Doors. 

Just as on 'the Price is Right', we never really know 

what lurks behind them 

or what will be revealed when they are opened. 

We wonder 'Is this is a door I should go through?', 

and quote pithy verses about them, 

like: 'When God closes a door, He opens a window'.

Sometimes the door just sits there, taunting you, 

almost daring you to open it.

And so, you do, and find something wonderful.

Lifechanging even.

The thing with doors and doorways is, you have to choose:

Stay on this side, or go through.

You can stand and look at that lovely opening and all that it leads to - 

but if you don't walk forward and through to the other side, 

you just might as well not have opened the door at all.

Going through that opening in the wall can mean going through a LOT.

From a philosophical perspective, 

the wall is the hard stuff and going through it 

is the only way to get to the other side - to the good stuff.

We threw open the danged door 

and jumped into the opening. 

We are in the process of going through the wall.

It's really cool on the other side, let me tell ya'...

but this part, here in the middle, well, it's hard.

That stuff about closing doors & opening windows? 

Nah. He's on the other side, telling us to just keep going.

One more step, one at a time, and we'll get through.

Some walls are illness. J & C are in that doorway.

Some walls are relationships. B is in that doorway.

{I'd really like to carry them over the threshold of those doors, let me tell you}

Some walls are business situations. P is in that doorway.

Some walls are financial, and we're in that doorway.

Just tryin' to do everything we can.

Thing is, all of us - all of you, too, I suspect -

just do our best in every situation.

Whether we chose the door or it flung open in our faces, 

we take those steps one at a time

and keep looking ahead to the good stuff.

Wherever you are, whatever wall you face

and whatever door is in front of you, 

Have courage. Have faith.

You have company on this journey, and you can do this.

{I keep saying that to myself, 

and sometimes it actually helps...}

Retreat on the Road...

Oh yes, we did.

But I can't start there.....

I have to start by telling you that Bob's Dad is home from the hospital, doing MUCH better than expected, and Bob has set up a home nurse and physical therapist to visit so that he continues to receive excellent care - and so that Mom isn't having to do more than she can. Out look is currently positive, and we will be setting up our schedule to return to SoCal every other month for a few days to check up on them. Thank you all SO much for your thoughts and prayers for Bob and his family..... you just don't know how very much we appreciate it.

OK, so, we left Bob's Mom & Dad's in the desert Saturday, and went to MY Mom & Dad's in Orange County. My darling sister Stacy and brother Scott came for dinner, and we had a great visit. I even got to enjoy the company of my niece Hannah! We spent the night, and then this morning headed out.... and along the way, we decided to stop at the Rose Bowl Flea. I mean, it's there, we're here.... it's just physically impossible to drive by it on the 210 without stopping. 

Trust me. ;0) Here's why:

See what I mean? Oh, and you just run into the most interesting people...

We spotted Jenny Doh and Heather Bullard when we walked in the gate at noon, gathering with their gals for the Brocante Flea Event. Check out Heathers Blog for info on that. I went over to say hi and Heather was pretty immersed with the other gals, so a quick hello had to suffice. By the time I looked up from our short conversation, Jenny was nowhere to be seen.... off in search of another treasure, no doubt!

We turned a corner and there was DeWayne Lumpkin, of Home Economics in Eugene, Oregon. He was our neighbor at the Funky Junk Show last month, just sellin' away in Pasadena! (He did NOT want his photo taken!!!) Nice to chat with him.... We also ran into the Olde Good Stuff guys - they have always been so generous with their products at gift shows, allowing me to use them in my stage displays when I speak about visual merchandising & display.

Then it was into the truck and onto the freeway heading north. It's a LONG drive from Pasadena to Seattle.... we are still en route as I write this, and are looking forward to being home soon. Even tho we'll miss being barefoot and in shorts. ;0)

Retreating

Whew. Sometimes life really hands you a STOP sign. Usually it happens when you have a plan in place, and are set to step out and move forward in a particular direction that you have chosen. You lift your foot, swing your leg, and just as you are ready to put your foot back down on terra firma in a new place - BAM! The unforeseen swoops down and stops you in your tracks. You THINK you know where you are going, but suddenly all of the roadsigns start pointing in every other direction than THAT one. Confusion and frustration result. We're there, my friends.

We were told many years ago that this occurrence was a test of our 'devotion'. We've learned that it is, actually, a test of our flexibility! We are most certainly devoted to and determined to pursue our goals and plans for our life and for Retreat... but the underlying mission statement of our business is that 'we will be building this business and developing it to benefit our family and help other people & families along the way'. If we can help others build small businesses doing what they love, and that can bless their lives and families, as well as contribute to a growing local economy, it fulfills a large part of our mission.

While we are planning and waiting for the 'big parts' of that plan to unfold, we've also been working out ways to take smaller steps 'in the meantime'. One was to have begun this past week... but our emergency trip to California has stopped that. Will it ever happen? Yes. We just don't know when. Ditto for the big stuff. It's a bit frustrating to be standing here staring at signs that look like that photo above: 'Turn right! No, turn left! No, go straight! STOP! GO! Yield! U turn!' All we can do is what we can do at any given moment. I know you've probably all felt that way at times, too, so you understand. Especially our generation, who are all working on balancing our own lives with being parents of adult children and parenting our aging parents.

Being in SoCal, considering whether or not this situation necessitates our relocation back here, and discussing how that would impact our life, our family, and our business, is a very heavy subject for us right now. It is not our choice to do that - to leave behind all that we have discovered, built up, and planned for in Washington. There's that concept of 'flexibility'.... are we willing to do that? Are we willing to change everything and for the time being give up our goals, our business, and life in our house on our island in Washington -  along with the very real chance that we may never get the opportunity again? Or are we willing to work harder to find a solution that will benefit everyone, and not cost us what we have worked so hard for up to this point? Our choice is the latter, but we may need to be willing to be flexible.

We are watching the roadsigns and listening for guidance so that we make wise and workable choices. I guess you could think of it as our Universal 'Garmin', whispering directions in our ear as we travel this road...