"Rancho Estrada"
By: Amos Hathway (while in Afghanistan September 2003)
God gave us the Estrada ranch, a place like no other. It is a piece of what heaven will be like. Of memories made, of friends, of fellowship, of love of family and the taste of all things good. It is a place of retreat, reflection, and respite from a life that seems so out of place. The sun dawns like a fire over the golden hills spotted with the oak trees that have seen a hundred like it and will see a hundred after it. Far off you can hear the hum of a car but it is almost as a distant memory. At the ranch time almost stands still for a brief moment. The smell of wheat and herbs on the air takes you back to a time as a child when all things where new and the world was there to explore.
The laughter of friends who still stand the pass of time itself fills your soul with warmth and joy. Tears come to my eyes just thinking of it. The talk of how we are the interest of it and what God is doing is genuine, the sharing of sorrows, of joy, of the past, and of the future are as shared and real as anything this side of heaven. In the afternoon the lazy breeze blowing off the Carisa Plains hot and gentle passes over you filling your face with warmth and soothing the soul.
In the evening the smell of BBQ makes one think of a simpler time, the clanging of horseshoes thrown and of laughter this is what life is all about. The simplicity yet the depth that goes down into the sprit. Of friendships and memories that will last an eternity. Of experiences, trials, and truths learned that have formed a boy into a man. History and family speak out of every fiber of this place. Of friends, of bonds of blood that surpass even family bond but yet stand the test of time.
This place, the Estrada Ranch, evokes a sense of eternity and of times past yet also of respite, rest, and the promise of the future bright as a summers day. Maybe the heart longs to return to it because it is a little piece of heaven this side of earth, a place you can call home.
Lord may your peace rest here and your blessing never leave.
By: Amos Hathway (while in Afghanistan September 2003)
