How it all started...

I want to share something I wrote August 24, 2022. It is My way of sharing with you a little about myself. Some background: I was married for 20 years to Dick Heflin. He died from Leukemia at 55 and I was 47. I began an 8-1/2 year time of giving my heart to Ralph Nichols, then we married and had a wonderful time until Dementia took its toll and I buried him on August 23, 2022. I have loved twice in twenty year spans of time, and I wrote during those caretaking times. I took care of both at home during their transfer to heaven. With that said: here is something I wrote:

"As I began to write from pen in hand to paper, I wrote the date August 24, 2002 instead of August 24, 2022. God said... count the years. Oh my goodness ... I started dating Ralph August 10, 2002 and I buried him August 12. 2022. We had 20 years.

My mind went back to the 20 years I was married to Dick. Oh my gosh... what about these 20 years? What is this God?

Here is what I wrote as I listened in silence...

To get to the luxury cruise liner, the battleship had to be. After Job sat under My heavy hand, he wrestled with Me and I counseled him. He understood Me plainly at the end of the day and sat in silence and realized, I alone am GOD. Then he prayed for his friends who counseled him wrong and then I restored double for all of his troubles.

You had your young and strong, playing hard and working all the day...raising your child and living the American dream - young and pretty, and enjoying life in the steady income stream.

Then it came swiftly and 20 years were gone and so was the money...and Leukemia had its name that was the ticket for Dick to travel to heaven that day.

8-1/2 Years went by in a struggle to survive, waiting on the man you loved again, with all your heart. It was engulfed in battleship warfare to get to today, My luxury cruise liner. You had some years of ministry Then 7 years of loss of Ralph's mental clarity. Then the physical loss gave him his ticket to transfer to heaven.

A battleship came and you climbed aboard and battled and battled until you were too weary to carry on. I stepped in and shut that door and removed you from the battle, for it was to be no more.

I sent you away to rest and wait, for the new door is opening and it will remain.

Welcome aboard the luxury cruise liner, My friend, it is a place of peace and restoration all of your life. Enjoy this place where people can come and leave all their worries at home for a time. It is a retreat, a blessing to see, a place and time of refreshing to these, the weary ones from their own battleships that be. Provide them this place I have given you.

I trained you in the first 20 years then you had to go to war on your own battleship for the next 20 years.

It is the finished work at the cross - now is the destiny package I have built for you, My love. Come, My beloved, the healing is near and I have given to you from My gracious hand, things stored up for you in this land.

I have loved you from everlasting to everlasting. That, My dear, dear, friend, is forever and ever and a day."