This photo makes me smile and so does the memory of eating at Glen Ella Springs last Friday night. It is always such a restful place to visit.

I was so captivated by the beauty of this moment that I just stood—frozen in awe at the site of the wheat blowing with the evening wind, the sunlight grabbing at each grain, and this baby cow (bull?) running toward me. Then I realized “momma cow” was watching a short distance away, and she was not too impressed with my presence.

Years ago, I bought Pretty Hill as a place of rest and a place where my dog Buffy could run and chase squirrels. I had planned to live many years there—overlooking the hemlocks, the natural azaleas, and watching the blue birds raise their babies. But as it happens at times, God had different plans. Buffy passed away over five years ago, and Cocoa Joy came into my life. (Now, there is Chip, too. Enough said.) Cocoa continued the “squirrel chase” around the yard, and the blue birds always returned every year. Then this past spring, I had a surprise ending to a job that I loved very much. The hurt was deep. The shock was stunning, but I knew I had no other choice other than to go forward. At the time, God gave me several promises. One became a compass to my life. It was from the book of Job, “[The Lord] made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before” (42:10).

Today, as I signed the closing papers on the sale of Pretty Hill, I sensed the Lord say, “twice as much.” Truly, the Lord brings beauty from ashes, and even if He stopped right here and now, I feel twice as blessed. He has provided a new house, a new life, a new beginning, and a new pathway for me and my dogs to travel. And who knows. . . . there maybe even another Pretty Hill in the making! Or a house that will be purely: “For•rest.” (smile)

I ended up taking the dogs for a quick walk in the woods. Soon, we were moving through dense woods and then out alongside water, which already bore the evidence of Fall’s soon arrival. What did Chipley do? Naturally, he dove into the shallow pool and then ran down the sandy pathway without giving a second thought to the consequences of his actions—a bath—his second in as many days. Cocoa, on the other hand, was the perfect Dog School 101 dog!

Cocoa Joy and Chipley take a break before heading home.

When Le Tourneau Hall caught fire and burned on August 3, 1950, Dr. Forrest wrote, “I got down on my knees . . . and spread the matter before the Lord. This was our largest building—our best building. When I thought about its destruction, it was a paralyzing thought. But I began to drink from our heavenly fountain of courage and faith, confidence and trust—and it took away my fear.”

A major part of the building, which was the girls’ dorm and also college’s dining room, was gone. The four columns on the front of the building, however, remained. They were solid and had withstood the intense fire. Instead of removing them, Dr. Forrest made a conscious decision to rebuild around them. And today, they are steady reminders of God’s unshakable faithfulness to Toccoa Falls College.