Chocolate

Tonight is a chocolate night. I only had three pieces left from the wonderful authentic chocolate from England.

Now I only have one piece left.

I will have to save it for a special day. It is strawberry filled, so I doubt that anyone will want it.

Fall is in the air here. The leaves on the trees are beginning to show their color. I can look out the window and see the mountain in its beauty.

I love this time of year. It takes me back to something that I seem to be doing a lot of lately.

Reflection.

It was this time of year two years ago that a dear friend took his life.

It was this time of year two years ago that my sister went to heaven. I often wonder how close their spirits are to me. They are close. I know that, but how often are they allowed the time to comfort, or perhaps protect?

Yesterday I was on my bike. I was just over a mile away from my house. The wind was ferocious. So much that I thought that maybe I should just turn around. I knew I had to get my mileage in though so I continued down the hill.

As I passed through the stop sign and on to the straight away, I thought of my sister, how I miss her so. I had a little prayer in my heart that she could accompany me on my ride.

The road to turn onto is not far from the hill that I had just descended and I had the thought that I should probably take it wide, just in case there was a car coming. I did just that, and as I looked up, there was a large Ford truck heading straight at me. There wasn't much I could do but swerve and say a quick prayer in my heart. With about 5 feet to spare, the man looked up from his cell phone, and swerved to miss me.

For the next 1/2 mile I cried. I wondered what exactly had happened there. Was my prayer heard? Did I have a guardian angel, perhaps my sister, along side me to protect me from the danger that I had just encountered?

Or

Was it just the grace of a loving God that had protected me? I surely would have died, or if not died, I would have been seriously injured. There was no way I could compete with the vehicle in my lane.

So, I shed tears of gratitude - Gratitude that I was still alive. Tears of hope, that maybe I was allowed a visit from someone I long to see. Maybe it is wishful thinking.

Maybe I just need more chocolate.