Memoirs from the Mill: Part 2

Well, folks- here we are again.

I can hardly believe all that has happened over the last year. And yet, here I stand with garland hanging from my windows, a beautifully decorated Christmas tree on my porch, and a festive wreath hanging on my upper door. Of all the services I’ve provided over the last 160 plus years, I can honestly say I never thought I would see the day when I was made into a Christmas centerpiece and the focal point of a tree lot. And, to my upmost surprise, I even made it on the cover of a local family’s Christmas card.

I’ve watched as the girl with the tender heart and her husband have worked tirelessly all year tending to the garden, loading the farm-stand with bushel after bushel of tomatoes, watermelon after watermelon, and so much more. I’ve watched in the fall as they unloaded pumpkin after pumpkin and sat out mum after mum. And most recently, I watched the man wrap one Christmas tree after another, after another. It has certainly been one of the most exciting years I’ve seen in decades.

But more than just watching- I’ve been listening.

Listening to the girl telling customer after customer my story. Listening to her telling about my town- about my people- and more than anything, telling about the future she hopes to have for me. I’m still taken back everyday as to why she is so passionate about seeing the day of my restoration, yet I know that I need her just as much as she needs me.

For my history is her history. My people are her people. And my future is a part of her future.

I once made the prediction that my rotting floors would one day be a part of my past, and with deepest gratitude, I can say that dream is coming true. The wood has been purchased, help has been appointed, and the Lord willing, in just a few short weeks, these rotted floors will be gone.

The page of my story that has remained blank for so long is finally being written on, making way for a brand new chapter. 

It feels very much like this quote from C.S. Lewis that keeps coming to mind over and over again: “…now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever; in which every chapter is better than the one before.”

And so,  here’s to the beginning of the first chapter in my story that the world has not yet read, but one day surely will.

For the author of my story- He has no boundaries.

As surely as I’m standing here, I know He is holding the pen; writing out word after beautiful word of my story that is ultimately unfolding for Him and His glory. What an incredible adventure it’s going to be.

To be continued…