Some of the Perks of running a California guest ranch are the connections we make with guests and the periodic healing we see in our visiting guests. The following unsolicited e-mail illustrates this point so well, I think I will offer it in it’s complete form and without further comment. I hope you find it as warming as I did.
Dear Doug, Heidi and Family,
I wanted to send a personal note to thank you for one of the best weeks of my life.
The week at your wonderful home was so much more than I expected. Even though this was my dream vacation it ended up to be so much more to me.
Because you are all so encouraging and knowledgeable I pushed my self again and again past my “personal comfort zone” I ALWAYS felt safe.. even when we were doing the hike to the falls, I did not stop because I was scared.. my body just said “that’s enough lady LOL… 5 years ago I would have never tried to do that hike..
One of the most surprising and wonderful things that happened to me was the healing that took place at your ranch. One of the nights while Al and I were looking at our daily pictures that we had taken I asked him if he had a picture of our daughter Erica the last week of her life here on earth. At first I told him to make sure it did not come up because I did not want to see it it.. Then I decided it was time. He actually had taken a video of her and Andrew her best friend and love of her life. Erica was sedated and on a ventilator the last week of her life. As I watched it I cried, but it was healing tears. I knew God had blessed her by taking her home.. And another piece of my heart was healed.. I don’t think I would have had the courage to look at that if I had not been at the ranch.. God grew me that week and refreshed my soul. And He gave me wonderful new friends in you. I really felt like I was leaving my family when we had to come back home..
I don’t think I can express how wonderful the ranch was for me. It is beyond words. I have a new strength and my soul is renewed. One of my friends at my stable saw me a couple of nights ago. She said I looked 10 years younger and she could tell me spirit was much lighter. Before we came to the ranch I would cry everyday and mourn for my loss. I know God truly helped to heal my soul there.. I have not felt the sorrow since I saw the video of Erica ..
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.. May God continue to Bless you ALL abundantly!!
In His Love,
Dar