"The earth is the Lord's..."

John and I drove to Franklin and Leepers Fork today, and came back through part of the Natchez Trace. The leaves were prettier there than anywhere we have been. This is south of Nashville. The original Natchez Trace went from Nashville to Natchez, Miss.and was used by settlers who would carry goods down the Mississippi River and come back up the Trace. It was a wild and dangerous place back in the 1800's. Gradually the trace fell into disuse and was just about gone, but then was "found again" and today's Trace follows part of the original walkway. You can get off the road and see the old trace in various places. The waggon ruts are three feet deep in some places. When I was small there was a huge tree in Centennial Park that had a spring next to it, and at one time there was an Inn there and it was the beginning of the Natchez Trace. Now the tree is gone, no part of the spring or inn remains (I guess it is long covered in roads) and a historical sign tells about this old road. There is a city street called Natchez Trace here in Nashville but it ends after a couple of miles, then there is no trace until you get about 15 miles out past the county line then the new Trace starts and a bridge is a unique double arched bridge It is unbelievably tall and goes through a deep valley close to Leepers Fork.

We met two special people today..part of my recognizing special happenings each day! While shopping in Franklin (got to shop) the lady who helped me shared that she had lost her husband to leukemia 15 years ago. She has now married a minister and moved here from Birmingham. She was so special and said she would pray for me. What a blessing to meet someone you do not know and have a sharing like that. Then when we stopped at the bridge we met a family who has moved here from Wisconsin and they have five children, one of whom nearly died from leukemia and one of the sisters gave her bone marrow and saved her life. This family shared this with us, and told how they love being in Tennessee and what prayer meant to their family. Another blessing today to meet such a family!

So this was a special day, in people we met and beauty of landscape we saw. My knees are still sore and swollen and my fingers are incredibly sore but we still had a good day.


Psalm 24:1 says "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;..."