I Have Arrived.

In Prescott, that is!! Or maybe I'm speaking figuratively..... =)

Oh, how to start off this blog...? I'm not so sure! ... Between the girls weekend at Lake Lure (NC), and then staying up all night (packing for AZ --- the same day I got back from Lake Lure, crazy right??) ... I am finally getting a chance to reflect a little bit on what I have experienced in just a matter of days.

..... *big sighhhhh* ... Well, let's start off with AZ. Because after all, I *AM* HERE, and I *DO* love it here.... even more than last year's visit. I haven't even been here a full 24 hrs, and while I was taking pictures at Sunset Point (a rest area in between Phoenix and Prescott). .... I stood there... with the AZ sun beating down on my skin and into my soul.... and the gentle, yet sometimes strong AZ wind, nearly took my visor away... with my heart that was crying out to the AZ mountains "I don't ever want to leave you. EVER."

To describe what AZ does to people (besides beating them down with her fierce sun, and nearly killing people with her deadly reptiles and critters)... is hard to put into words. All I know is... I have arrived. But sadly enough, it's not permanent yet. YET.

While at the scenic rest stop (Sunset Point)... I was basking in the sun, trying to take in the majestic view of God's creation, when a late-40 yr old man in a neon t-shirt approached me and asked if I was a registered voter for AZ.

I said, "No, not yet. I'm workin' on that one." =) We chatted for a bit.. he is from Michigan, and supposedly, he was with others doing the same thing (which was taking a voter survey or something... I don't know to be honest with you), and so I just carried on a conversation with him (as I do with most random people), and got to know him for a short while. .... He had served eight years in the Army, had gotten shot three times... but one of them grazed his back. (Yes, he showed me.... as all Army vets do.... and they SHOULD, they were THERE, and THEY LIVED.) Amazing story because it was right smack dab in the middle of his back. ....... I gasped when he showed me. He's lucky to be alive. God was watching over him -- even then. So his name is actually Peter (like the disciple...) and his middle name is actually John. (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John --- the 'gospels'.. the four books that tell of Jesus's early days of ministry. Jesus was about 30 when he began his ministry.) ... Anyway, so I made the comment, "Good name. Peter. .... Like the disciple." ... and then he told me his middle name... John. I said, "... like one of the gospels..." .. And then that's when he told me his last name, but we won't tell it. =) ... Because maybe one day, he WILL be that lawyer and come and hunt me down. lol..... Nahhh, he won't hunt me down. But he'll remember me. It was a short convo, but a good one. Lucky to be alive, that man. ... I shook his hand and said, "God bless you" as we parted ways b/c his crew were ready to go. ... A conversation I wish I could've continued... but God is working in his life too. As God is always working in our lives, whether we know it or not.....

........... Back to today. .... The majestic bare mountains I saw yesterday on the way here, still encamp my soul and my mind.... and the welcoming baby blues of my host... tell me that Prescott may be the place.

So in love with Arizona. .... So in love. I have arrived.... but not permanently. Not yet....

....... I am really looking forward to visiting the city of Jerome. The down-to-earth, AZ raised Latino girl at the local eatery recommended it. She advises me to not 'get stuck' in a small town like Prescott.... b/c Prescott is all she knows. .... Oh, but what she doesn't know is that God is calling me here. At least it's here in AZ. Prescott still has to be confirmed. .... It's funny that she talks about how much she loves Jerome, and how haunted it is, and how lots of people go there during Halloween because they put on skits and stuff..... oh, but she is totally unaware of my love for God, and my love for ancient ruins.

Like me, she is also a photographer. ... I sense her soul, and it's much like mine. Capturing the beauty around her, she has an adventurous spirit, but has been 'held down' in this city because it's all she's really known besides college and her young family. .... But maybe there is more to her story. ..... She has life in her. Lots of life, actually. She doesn't know it, but this place IS holding her back. ... Maybe, when the time is right... she'll hear God knocking on her heart, and she'll respond to His calling for her. .... Beautiful heart, that girl. God adores her.

Three young men strolled through the door, sometime after I started eating my authentic (and yummy) Mexican dish. They're locals. Cute young men. Strong in stature (because they work in construction), old enough to make their own decisions, and maybe they have families, or girlfriends.... but one of them took small notice of me, and I just smiled and said hello as I went to get a refill of water. 'I can't stay here too long.' I told myself. ..... I get a sense these men need a woman, have a woman, or are just trying to figure out who I am. ..... lol .... So I finish up my meal, and say a last few words to the beautiful heart up front. I tip her $5, and told her that maybe I'd see her again, and winked. Not like a lesbian wink... lol... I hope she didn't take it that way. lol.... and she just told me to enjoy my stay. ... I walked out the door, so happy to have met her, so happy to have eaten some delicious authentic Mexican food, and soooooooo happy to be in Arizona again... after being away from her for over a year. ..... I was HERE. I had arrived.

.................................................. ............

*siiiigggghhhhhhhh* .....

So!!! Now that it's 7:03am, I must go. I can hear the wonderful construction going on, right outside my cracked window (where the nippy AZ air has filled my room this morning)... and I'm about to get another HUGE helping of Arizona today.

I am IN LOVE. I AM IN ARIZONA. I AM IN PRESCOTT, ARIZONA.

I HAVE ARRIVED.