Month: April 2019

Day four:  The Search.  Where I write about mountains and condos and camaraderie.

My day started out early with a wonderful jog around the town, up and down some of my favorite streets. I love the wide side-walks and wide streets, giving the town a feeling of openness. The sun had just risen over the shoulder of Four Peaks (our special mountain here where amethysts were mined years ago) saying good morning.

Four peaks got its name because, well, it has four peaks. It’s a great landmark because it’s so unmistakable. The peaks are jagged looking, not rounded, as if God took his finger and drew a zig-zag across the top just for fun. It stands tall and proud, reveling in its special honor as personal sentinel for everyone in the valley.

Next on the list of things to do for the day was to look at some condos. Three very sweet and knowledgeable Realtors, Jaki, Nan, and Randee, accompanied me as we checked out one after another. I love ‘shopping’ like this with women because there’s an instantaneous sister-hood that happens. We ‘oooh’ and ‘ahhh’ together and give our opinions on the good and the bad of each one. It’s a community effort. I had a blast.

The first one was cute, but the patio was very small, although we all agreed that the huge oleander growing outside the dining area window was wonderful for privacy. The second one was spectacular which meant the first one was off the table as a possible. Bigger unit with a gorgeous kitchen (even though I don’t cook anymore), fantastic views of the mountains, including Four Peaks, although it faced the main road, so there was street noise but the patio was nice and big. The third and fifth condos were in this same complex, but the third had back views overlooking the wash (which I also love), with the McDowell mountains (not my favorites). The carpet was old and nasty, and the unit hadn’t been taken real good care of, so that was a maybe if I could get it for a good price. The fifth one was not even in the running, so we’ll not speak of it.

When we drove up to the third unit, it was obvious that the Realtor who put the listing in the MLS had lied about views. There clearly weren’t any so we didn’t even go in.

The fourth one, though, had the views to die for. Backing up to an Indian Reservation, you were at ground level with the wash, then as your eyes travelled upward, an unobstructed view of Four Peaks and the Superstitions in all their majesty. Spectacular! However, the floor plan was awful, and the condo had not been maintained very well. How’s that saying go – ‘rode hard and put away wet.”

So, anyway, some good things to chew on and I got some numbers on what I could get for rental income. We shall see.

Other than writing the blog post for the day, I took a day off from working on my book and will resume my efforts tomorrow.

I had planned on hiking the Ballantine Trial in the morning – about 21 miles up 87 (what they call the Beeline Highway) toward Payson and into the foothills of the mountains inside Tonto National Forest, but the wind has picked up considerably and with my contacts, and the dust in the air, it might not be a good idea. We shall see what’s it like in the ‘wee smas’, as the saying goes.

Three more full days to soak up the sun and warmth, peace and quiet of Arizona. I’m already asking God when I can come back – maybe to stay for good next time.

Onward and upward!

Day three of my Arizona journey.  Peace and quiet and comfort.  What more is there to want?  Steadfastly agreeing to patiently wait for God’s timing, because his is perfect.

Day Three: Frozen Lake.

My early morning walk with the sun still low in the sky was lengthy and invigorating. I was immersed in the soft light of what was going to be a hot day. But for now, the soft breeze was wonderfully comfortable. I walked around the famous fountain, snapped a few pictures, and enjoyed watching other people out and about getting their morning exercise as well.

My mountains still beckon me to come and play. Hopefully that will happen on Wednesday. They seem to smile at me like long-lost friends who I want to sit down with and catch up on all the news. I want to spend some quality time with them. I even bought myself a sun-hat yesterday to keep me from getting too much sun on my walk, when it happens.

I’ll be looking at condos on Tuesday. Just to see what’s on the market. I’m not ready to buy. Really, I’m not. Looking will give me a goal to shoot for. Just for when it’s the right time to move here.

Can I confess something? I have this life-long habit of picking up and leaving. Poof, I’m gone, just like that. Once I make up my mind and line up my justifications (whether good or manufactured), I’m off. When situations get too stressful or strained and I feel like I’m trapped in a cage, I pack up and leave.

This is, of course, not necessarily a good thing. But not necessarily bad either. It shows I’m not afraid to leave a bad situation which is good. It also shows I tire of difficult situations and sometimes leave and start over just to be away from the stress rather than work through whatever it is that needs to be worked through. And that’s not so good. I have issues, but don’t we all?

Balance and patience are what I am sometimes lacking, and endurance.

Arizona, you see, is my frozen lake. There’s this poignant scene in season 5 of my favorite show NCIS Los Angeles where Deeks and Kensi, finally beginning to acknowledge their feelings for each other, have a conversation.

Kensi, with tears in her eyes says, “I’m standing on my frozen lake.”

Deeks replies softly and sadly, “I don’t know what that means.”

And Kensi explains that a frozen lake is where the thing you want so bad is sitting and you’ll do anything to get it. Your heart takes over and you think you can just run out there and grab it…

Then Deeks interjects – “but you don’t realize you’re already standing on the ice and it’s breaking all around you.”

Later in the episode, Deeks asks a Gurka for counsel. Thapa had started to tell Deeks earlier how to cross a frozen lake, so he pleaded with him to finish the story. “Go slowly, looking all around you. You must be patient. She will wait for you.”

What my heart desperately wants is to live in Arizona again. But this time, I dare not run across my frozen lake to grab what I want. I must be patient and wait until God says it’s time.

One thing I’ve had to learn over and over is that God’s timing is better than my own. It can be hard to patiently wait when the thing you want is so very close. You just want to reach out and grab it.

I don’t want the ice to break around me this time.

Day Two of my Arizona trip.  Resting and writing and walking.  What more could I want?

The entire day was glorious. The warmth, the mountains, the walks, the peaceful air of the town. Some of the cacti are blooming, and I got a fabulous picture of a prickly pear cactus covered in pink flowers. When the fruit matures, the globes are used in jellies and margaritas. I tried picking one once when I lived here years ago and quickly and painfully pulled my fingers away covered in almost invisible hair-like spines. Lesson learned. Use gloves next time.

I was able to get quite a bit of writing done, pulling out stories I’d written, some from years ago, from my saved files and re-reading them helped remind me again of just how faithful God is and how far I’ve come. That was the encouraging part, but I have so far still to go. And that’s ok, because I’m not alone.

The Bible, as we know, is full of stories. Happy stories and tragic stories, but each one with a lesson for us to learn. Even Jesus told stories, although we call them parables. The story of the Lost Sheep giving us hope that Jesus will find us no matter where we wander off to, and that he loves us even when we’ve messed up.

And the Good Samaritan, spotlighting God’s love for all, no matter your race or color or religion. We are to show compassion, no matter who needs it.

And then the story of the Prodigal Son. What a beautiful picture of God, our Father, standing out in the road watching, watching, watching, until his long-lost child returns home, and then throwing a huge party. How did the prodigal’s father know he was coming home? I don’t think he did. I picture him every day walking to the road, and as the months and years passed, walking more slowly, but still standing vigil until the day when his prayers were answered, and his child came back to him.  Now that is a glorious picture of hope and steadfastness.

I’ve often said that God has made our bodies so frail. Why did he do that? We can’t re-grow severed limbs or live without hearts or livers. We get cut and we bleed. We get infections and cancers and even with such huge strides in the medical field, we still wither and die. Our bodies betray us, and our minds forget those around us.

We depend on him for our very breath. With each beat of our heart we know to whom we belong.

In Arizona I’ve been able to truly experience that ‘knowing’ in a way I’ve not had anywhere else. That’s why this place holds my heart so tightly in its grip. I feel closer here to the one I love, and I don’t want to leave. Ah, well. We shall see what God has up his sleeve.

If someone were to ask me, “so, what did you do all day?” I’d reply, “walking, writing, resting.”

Did I mention it was glorious?