Our Village, in Pictures

 There are still old snow-fed fountains in Huemoz (pronounced Way-moh). The water is fresh and delightful. Villagers sometimes use them like an extra refrigerator. It isn't odd to find a few six-packs of beer nestled in the bottom of these ice-cold fountains. And we always take a sip when we pass by!

(the question is, am I talking about the beer or the fountain water?)

 I revel in the lovely little details on the centuries-old chalets in Huemoz. While we might not look quite like the most picturesque visions of Switzerland you find in tourist books, some homes' stacks of wood are astonishingly tidy, and the dates on several chalets are shocking to this North American (that's right, the lowest one says 1706).

 Our little village church, not much in use anymore...but the bells continue to ring out at every 15 minute interval of the day and they go wild on Sunday mornings! 

 Here we are walking from the center of Huemoz up toward our chalet. The driveways' angles would scare all non-mountain-dwelling people (that would still be me), but I am getting more and more used to the ways of an emergency brake!

 From down on the lower road, you can look up and see three (or parts of three) L'Abri chalets. The front one is little Le Poulet (our first home as a married couple!); the one in the middle and to the left is our current home, Le Chesalet; the little bit of the highest one behind them all is Bellevue, the student chalet (where Dave and I first laid eyes on each other!). We have so much personal history tied to these three, and it is a joy to be in the midst of them all once again.

 The path to our home, Le Chesalet.

 Benches along all the roads in Huemoz make for wonderful stops to take in the view and have a snuggle.

This last one was taken from up above Huemoz. Here you can see some of the village and our everyday view of the Rhone valley! Breathtaking!

"The backdrop that surpasses it all"

Have you ever wondered if your physical posture has more to do with your whole person than you previously imagined? Why is your back "out?" Are your neck spasms related only to that lumpy pillow? Were the years of your father's admonishments to "stand up straight"  more than concern for the health of your spine? 

My neck has been giving me grief lately. As it has throughout the last 20 years. Most would readily admit that stress compounds our muscular dysfunctions, and of course some schools of thought put enormous weight on the relationship between spirit-health and bodily wellness. I do not presume to fully understand or prescribe the answers to these centuries-old debates, but my neck has been giving me grief lately. My heart has also been giving me grief lately. 

When I am walking through the astounding beauty of that part of the world that I now call home, I have to remind myself to look up! The mountains, the evergreens, the light on the clouds- I often miss it all, absorbed in my own personal woes. Hunched over, brow furrowed, ice-avoiding, I can walk for an hour with a crick in my neck and avoid looking beyond my next immediate step. 

And then...grace comes. I remember God's intentional adjective pointed at His beloved Israelites- a stiff-necked people. I lift my eyes to the hills, and pray for loosened muscles, a strengthened spine to walk through sorrow, and a growing posture of trust.

                                                                                       :::

...These thoughts were inspired by our director here at L'Abri. His Friday Musings from last week read:

"Feelings of betrayal and abandonment are awful. Life is never less than these, though remember, it is always so much more. While time, precious time, will be necessary to process and work through our sense of hurt and rejection, love and acceptance remains the backdrop that surpasses it all. Seek, therefore, to fill up the empty spaces with good and thereby embrace the 'so much more.'"

-Dr. Greg Laughery, Director of Swiss L'Abri, on Friday, December 6, 2013