I had not seen Peaches since her sister’s wedding in New York over ten years ago; which occurred just prior to the catastrophic event of 9/11-- an event so spiritually significant I dreamed about it while it was happening.
Cousin Peaches and I are close in age and spent our adolescence together. I recall a simple life growing up in the 70's and early 1980's; where we often went swimming and canoeing at a local lake. There was an island in the middle my uncle and I would swim around, through the deep clean water. I also remember simply playing outdoors, oblivious to the dilapidated surroundings of our neighborhood, ignored by time and circumstance.
Peaches and I were now in touch again after some long gaps, but with certain people you don't really notice the missing time. They are home for you no matter where or how long apart. It helps immensely that we are both Christians today. She has been important to me for emotional support, especially these last few years. I was nervous to meet her family. She had been married for 20 yrs with four boys as a result. Peaches has been blessed with a full life and has a great gift for encouraging and reaching out to people.
I flew down to Arizona. After arriving at her house from the airport Peaches asked—with a wry smile—if I still felt nervous about being in her home with family I didn't know? “No not at all” I said, stating the obvious because I was completely at ease in the unfamiliar surroundings. I had never been this far South before and never to a real desert. I marveled at the houses painted in hues of clay red, sun burnt orange and pale yellow; all matching the natural landscape. The natural surroundings were simple and spacious; with cacti, palm trees and desert flower plants, staunchly sitting in beds of rock. The roofs of houses had to have real clay tile in order to withstand the heat of the desert valleys. Fences were mortared brick, lest the sun warp and destroy anything made of wood.
One morning Peaches husband Roger and I jumped into his truck to follow their kids to school. A whole gang of neighborhood boys with oversize backpacks jumped on their motor-cross bikes. And the smaller the kid, the bigger the back-pack seemed to get! After seeing the kids safely to their school, we continued to the local coffee-shop where we met up with a friend from Rogers’s church.
The next day, Essiah (her eldest son), Roger and I went to Sedona for some hiking. The area is stunning in its juxtaposition of green hills and red-rock spires. We walked upon the soft clay ground through groves of cypress trees, cacti and aloe plant, criss-crossing a stream upward. Amazingly on one side of us were snow-covered mountains, while the other featured red-rock mesa’s, with strata lines of ancient geological meandering. We climbed to almost 6,000 ft through the soft clay and snow, passing many waterfalls while following the stream. The sky was overcast, the temp in the mid-40’s, and these memories are indelible.
At times my life has been filled with turmoil. Even after my salvation I had doubts and used to wonder why God would continue to have anything to do with me, because I felt weak and inadequate. But I learned that when God begins a work in you, He does not forsake you because He is steadfast and true to His Word and to His covenant. So I realized after being filled of God's Holy-Spirit; we still have to 'work out' our salvation in this world. Though we are 'new creations'--"Behold, old things are passed away. All things are become new." --II Corinthians 5:17-- we still deal with sin of the heart and flesh. Sanctification is both a title and a process.
After my flight back from visiting with cousin Peaches and her family (I came back just before Christmas), the tree lights at home hover in the quiet evening, while I meditate on the peace, joy and wisdom of God, which surpasses all understanding. In solitude that personal relationship is made clear. And reflecting on the fellowship I experienced in Arizona, I am grateful. Peaches suggested I start a blog, and so this first entry is for her.
Peaches has a nice small garden, shaded strategically between her lemon and orange trees. These trees are very fruitful, yielding more fruit than they know what to do with. Also in the back yard is a fire pit, where we gathered one cold December evening covering ourselves with blankets, hovering around the fire. The kids roasted marshmallows while I played on a guitar, covered with blanket.
On the return flight back home, I gazed upon the dominant mountain ranges of Washington State, where cold glacier lakes and thick forested patches of green broke through winters snowy blanket. The sky darkened as we flew further north, with the sun setting just as we made our approach to Bellingham . At home now, The lights on the Christmas tree hover peacefully between the branches, in the silent night.
