Vicki Rose Williams
                                          1957 - 2018

 I love paths.
Wide swaths, or narrow pathways of dirt or gravel ..... 








Or a stroll through a forest path, etched by foot traffic.

 A bench to rest upon on the way ....

 

 Destination ... daughter's house for coffee and Jesus meeting us to start the day.
                                       Over the meadow and through 
                                       the woods to Vicki's house I go ...

 The well worn path is now being given back to the forest ....

 the bench now sits empty, most of the time ..

A new path takes its place .... past the red barn and hammock ..

 

The new trail ....

Jack leading the way as he once did for Vicki

in the evenings when she walked the old path from my house to hers ... her guardian on the walk home.

 

On the new path, Jack is alert  .... a bear passed this way recently and left a tell-tale sign on the freshly stomped down dirt and pine needles leading to a recently cleared meadow .... and a new bench to rest upon. 

Vicki's bench, carved, sanded and protected from the elements by loving friends, sits between two raised flower beds. In spite of deer nibbling, carnations struggle to bloom .. Vicki's favorite flower. Forest flowers add to the beauty of late summer blooming

 Water ... pull weeds and pass my hand over the scripture on the bench.

"And you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring where waters never fail." Isaiah 58:11

And if I sit a spell ... close my eyes while opening my heart, I can hear Vicki say, "Hi Momma! Come sit .... Jesus will ease your sadness for I'm not here.. but with Him!"

 Some paths last but a short season ...
                       others lead to unexpected destinations ...
while our final path will lead to a Garden ... unimaginably beautiful that will never be untended or lack beauty. 
The Master Gardener will be there to greet us ... as will Vicki.
 .