Before I forget about some of the mini miracles of our McCall McRae Reunion July 2017, I have to document them!
*Sam came! And it was just fine! And he made homemade raspberry ice cream for all of us on the first night and had us all gather to share it! He went above and beyond some of the times to try to connect with individuals. He really did try hard to keep it good. And it was! So thankful for a successful time together!
*Alan's glasses got knocked off into the Lake and he instinctively jumped in after them and FOUND THEM before they sunk to the murky depths below! Seriously a miracle! And he said he would have had to get new one immediately if he had lost them. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to function. And that would have been super hard to get new glasses for him in that little touristy Idaho town.
*Huckleberry Trail bike ride! Last afternoon of the reunion, Joe, Meredith, Liza, Kathy, Alan, Katie, Scott, Kristin and Brett and I decide to go for a bike ride in the state park. I was wearing flip flops and no helmet, as were many of the rest. The ride turned into a pretty technical mountain bike trail halfway into it! We were so not prepared, mentally or physically! And Brett literally launched off of his bike at one point and landed himself BETWEEN two trees in a very skinny opening! SOOO much better than landing into one of the trees. Miracle he wasn't seriously injured.
*We rented a boat one day to ski and wakeboard and wake surf and tube on Payette Lake. Matt landed some RAD flips while wakeboarding, and an incredible dock start. Sam tried to dock start--without success. But the miracle was that he didn't get hurt in the process of trying. When Matt landed a flip on his wakeboard, Lainie proclaimed in awe: "How is he NOT married?!" She was serious. The rest of us laughed so hard. Kathy is particularly on his tail to have him work on getting himself married--or at least seriously dating. She laughed the hardest of all.
*We played some family games at the state park on the grass. One of them was cabbage ball! LoVe that game! It's basically family softball with a perfect ball you can catch without a mitt. The grass was a bit slippery though, and as I tried to round second base, I full-on did the splits! Ouch. Haven't done those in 20 + years. The miracle? I didn't injur myself, AND I kept my back foot on the base! I was safe!
*One of the other games we played was "Whack the Cracker." No one got too hurt, except their feelings and their pride. It got way out of control among the Barton sisters, me included. No miracle there--except that it didn't end any worse than some bruised feelings that hopefully mended quickly enough. Though I think that I will personally outlaw the game from future family gatherings. That may have been our last round. Ever.
*Lots of good times, tasty treats and good laughs. So thankful for my forever family. And an absolutely gorgeous place to celebrate them in! McCall was eye candy for the soul!
Meredith returned home from her mission to Sonora, Hermosillo Mexico filled with stories in her heart that she had reserved to tell us in person rather than share by email. Stories she had not chosen to share until then because she knew of the distinct possibility of my hopping a plane and coming to take her home had she divulged these experiences prematurely. Stories where I, indeed, did not need to intervene--because the Lord had:
First area, first week, a man follows Meredith and her companion with a machete. But they miraculously escape any harm.
A knock on the wrong door, "May we share a message with you?"
"Come in," they say. And then they lock the door behind them.
Meredith and her companera share a heart-felt message, hearts truly beating loudly. And upon finishing, they are told, "We usually do not let strangers leave this house alive. We are going to let you go out that door (pointing to a back door), but you must never return!"
Another time, a man approaches Meredith and her companion in a van and forcefully tells them "jump in the van right now!" In the moment of hesitation and incredulous reaction that follows, Meredith reports that this man suddenly looks behind Meredith and her companion--and seems to see others with them, realizing that they are not alone. He changes his mind and speeds away. Who were those angels with Meredith and her companion that suddenly became visible to that perpetrator? The Lord had yet again intervened.
Meredith would share that, multiple times, she felt that she and her companion were not walking alone as they traveled the dusty streets of Mexico. And in fact, she sensed that one who often accompanied her was my Dad, Rulon McRae! My father, who in 1981, died in a plane crash in Southern Idaho. My Dad, who Meredith never knew in this life. She had seen pictures and heard stories, and had quite recently met his brother, my uncle, Burr McRae. Yet, she knew my Dad was with her at times. She reports that when she first met Uncle Burr, (while currently serving her mission) she felt an inexplicable familiarity that she could only chalk up to her experiences of feeling my Dad's presence as one of her guardian (or ministering) angels. The Book of Mormon speaks often of ministering angels. President Joseph F. Smith said "When messengers are sent to minister to the inhabitants of this earth, they are not strangers, but from the ranks of our kindred and friends...bringing from the divine Presence messages of love, of warning, of reproof and instruction."
The idea of my Dad sometimes accompanying Meredith as a bonus companion on her mission, fills me with gratitude for the divine Love of an earthly father who is now in heaven, and our Heavenly Father who knows exactly how to take care of our vulnerable hearts--the one walking the streets of Mexico with a name tag over the top, and the one kneeling back home, praying for her safety as she serves Him.
