From my heart..

Here's the third thing that was on my heart tonight..

I was in the Restaurant very late tonight..until after 1:00 am. The lights were lit and our worship music was playing. We had a fantastic day today and I was feeling such gratitude. Truly my heart was pumping with Thanksgiving and love and joy. So I was praising the Lord, you know. Just silently looking around the dining room, looking at all of the murals,and wow..really just feeling unbelief at what God has done for us. And I thought of the former owners of the Tavern.
My heart broke for them and I'll tell you why. They did an amazing Job fixing up the Tavern. They have such beautiful taste. From the murals on the walls, to the stenciling, to the window treatments to the chandeliers.. They did something that Joe and I never could have done. We would have never thought of fixing this up the way that they did! We don't have the knowledge and to be honest the class that they do. You can just tell, that they knew fine things. They had such a wonderful vision and beautiful, beautiful taste. This building is..honestly..I've fallen in love with it, it is that wonderful!
So anyway, I was looking at the murals that Gib Mcgill painted. One day he came in here and told us all of the stories behind the murals. Each scene represents something. On one of the walls, is a picture of the former owners riding horses.
Just imagine how much they must have loved this place. There are pictures of their family and I think their house and children painted into the murals. They must have hurt so badly to have had to let that go. I can just tell the love that they put into here.
They tried. I'm sure they tried so hard to make it work. Running a restaurant is so very hard! Believe me, we know! I can't even imagine doing it with five kids at home. And it's not easy in this building. It's an old building. There are a lot of problems here. There's always something that needs fixed! We are finding that out every single day!
But this is what I believe. God knew what was going to happen with the Tavern. He knew Joe and I never would have made it as beautiful as the Behms did. Maybe, just maybe, that they needed to come first, before we could have it. Maybe they were part of God's plan for this place. Maybe they did their part.. perhaps they were following God and God led them there. I don't know. I have never talked to the former owners of the Tavern, but I do feel and see the love that they put into the place. For that I am so grateful. Thank you both. Thank you for all of the love you brought here. Thank you for making it so beautiful. Thank you for doing such a great job. I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. Please know that we will take care of the Tavern and try to carry on the old traditions and make our own new ones. We will be good stewards of this place. Please know that. May God Bless you abundantly!
SLH