Showing His Love, Sharing His Truths, Proclaiming His Promises

As I laid my head down last night, and prayed my bedtime prayers, "and your sleep shall be sweet...", I took a mental journey to some of the different places where I have lain my head.

One by one, I went, recalling each room and even the very bed slept in. How awesome!

Very soon, I found myself rejoicing greatly in all of the wonderful places where I have been blessed to visit.

I have to admit that I did not make it to every place before falling asleep.  That is to be continued!

Of course, one of the most memorable was a Russian night time.  We headed out very early that morning, in below zero temperatures, to the train station. Our first leg would be a two hour trip.

We arrived, still before the break of day. There was the strong smell of burning coal in the air, and the occasional eruption of a train's steam whistle. Very surreal!

On board this next train, we nestled in for a relaxing twelve hour train ride north into the frozen Russian landscape. Except for the occasional small village, all views out the window were snow and pines.

Once we arrived at our home of destination, we found that no one had been there for two weeks. Needless to say, it was a bit chilly. Except for a very small maintenance fire, in the small wood cooking stove, there was virtually no heat.

We went to bed that night with indoor temperatures in the 50's.  I was assigned a  fold-out cot with a body size groove right in the middle.  No rolling out of this one! And it was obvious, there would be no tossing and turning!  It was absolutely wonderful!

Waking up at dawn, it was time for a visit to the "restroom".  That would be out back!

I managed to grab someone's boots, headed out the first front door, into a pitch dark breezeway, stumbled over a cat anxious to get in, and out through the front porch.

I knew that I was "somewhere else" as I stepped outside.  Several feet of very crunchy snow, pines and birch trees intermixed, with the newly risen sun shimmering through everything. With your own breath frosting right in front of you, it was not at all hard to wake-up. The day had definitely begun.

There were only three houses out in this neck of the woods. I seemed to be greeted by a neighborhood dog's bark that echoed through the woods. I think that we were the only ones stirring.

Well, I finally made it out to the very cold "outhouse".  "Should I knock", I wondered?

Well, that was the beginning of my sweet sleep last night.  Only God can afford such things!