Blessings Beneath Our Feet.

Photo by author at Natural Bridge Caverns

61 years ago, Clara Wuest from New Braunfels, Texas might have stood on this very spot where I took this picture today and asked God to help her raise her 2 little boys alone. It was her ranch where her & husband raised goats & cattle.

As stated in this article: Every family goes through trying times, and the Wuests have had their share. In 1956, Grandfather Hilmar Wuest died when his prickly pear burner exploded. He’d been burning thorns off cacti that he was feeding his cattle during the drought. The accident left his wife, Clara, on her own to raise their two children and run the ranch.

But just a few years later, the family’s fortune would change.

In March of 1960, four college students from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio discovered the Caverns after receiving permission from the family to explore what was thought to be a small cave. Clara Wuest Heidemann took the gamble of her life and risked all the family had to secure a loan to develop the cavern passages into the attraction that it is today.

So, what if she would have given up when standing right above her families future for generations to come?

As I went through these amazing natural caves today, I saw the huge dome ceiling that took millions of years to form. At one point over several 1000 years or more, an earthquake caused the ceiling to collapse, making the way for the stalagmites and stalactites to form. Before that, water-filled the caves for millions of years. If you had witnessed the water or the earthquakes, you would think all is lost, that nothing good could possibly come from those catastrophes. But amazingly beautiful natural wonders grew from those disasters.

How many times have we said we are done with something? That it’s too hard, too much work? Or the big one:

"Nothing I'm doing is working."

How do you know it’s not? What could have been around the next corner or the next tunnel? Clara’s family were not cave people, they were farmers. But they soon adjusted! Adjust your sails.

We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.
Dolly Parton

It’s true, if we are miserable, something must change. It’s up to us to find that power inside us to bring about places and spaces that serve us well.

Our limited view of time is nothing, compared to eternity’s view of time. We have to be patient, find our peace, and love 💕 love 💕 love those around us.

Our pristine clear emerald water is waiting. Our beautiful hidden tortured soul waiting to bloom. The depth and breadth of the expansion of our character to reach up in love like these stalagmites as they are fed by slow drips of water & the right mixture of oxygen.

Our treasure might be right beneath us, waiting…..waiting for just the right conditions to break out. Everyone’s treasure is different. It might not look like you imagined. For some it might be personal peace. For others it might be an awakening in their loved one or a “cure”. Others it might be an understanding of the process of time & respect for someone else journey. Or a re-uniting with a fellow hurt family member who’s views & attitude seemed unreachable.

Whatever your miracle, keep reaching UP like the stalagmites. Drink from your water of hope.