Champlain Valley

The coffee Laurence made stays hot in a Yeti cup while we sit in the coolness of a new day on the porch of an old cottage – one that was built in another era. The lush greenness of the lawn slopes down to the blue of Lake Champlain. The Green Mountains of Vermont rise on the opposite shore.

Yesterday we walked the familiar streets of Essex, NY, while waiting for the car ferry to take us across to Vermont. In visiting with the blue-eyed (so seldom seen in NYC ) couple from New Brunswick, we learned that they’re acquainted with the Mennonites. We heard an encouraging sermon while overlooking the Champlain Valley from the top of Mt. Philo. “At evening time it shall be light” (Zechariah 14:7).

Laurence designed a scenic drive that took us over the mountains and through the woods of a Vermont dressed in greens, reds, yellows, and golds. We viewed falls rushing with copious amounts of water and walked a trail through meadow and wood where Robert Frost spent 23 summers. A bookstore owner and I shared about our love of reading and writing while Laurence really wished to be moving on to mountain roads. As we left the man said to Laurence, “Thank you for your patience.”

Today we return to the city. It is home. Whether it be in the city or the country, on the mountain or in the valley, we are given the privilege of letting the Light shine in the evening of Time. Be blessed today. Berniece

P.s. I hear the whistle of the train below me and beside the river. Someday we’d like to take this scenic ride to Port Henry, New York, a village near here.

P.s.s. I feel quite sure if I’d consult Laurence, he’d want me to tell you about the history of this valley.