One Of The Most Beautiful Places I Have Ever Been

One of the most beautiful places I have ever been takes some deep thought. I have been fortunate to experience travel to forty-nine of our fifty states, Mexico, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Canada all having beauty in their own way. I love seeing the beaches and the blue waters, the big skies of Montana, the beautiful foliage of New England, the majestic hills of West Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley, the Black Hills, the Badlands, the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest, the rolling hills of Kentucky and much more. BUT…BUT…BUT…The most beautiful place I have ever been was in the delivery room. The delivery room is the place where I saw my children being born. The lights, the nurses, the doctors, the mirrors, and the voices announcing, “you have a beautiful baby girl” is a picture that will never fade in my memory. What an absolutely beautiful place to be! It was such a beautiful place to be that I visited there three times and celebrated those visits every year. My visits there were in 1972, 1974, 1981. And then in 1999 I traveled to the delivery place of my first grandson. It was amazingly beautiful to be part of the delivery team. Watching a baby being born is a thrilling vision of God smiling down and saying, “Life is to be cherished.” It is a reminder of God “breathing the breath of life.” (Genesis 2:7) Could there be a more beautiful place? Another beautiful place I recently visited was the bedside of my mother before and as she took her last breath. I vividly remember her last words. I entered the room, held her face in my hands and asked, “how’s my mama?” She opened her eyes and said, “Your mama’s okay.” She closed her eyes and my brothers, and I sat in vigil as we waited for her to take her journey to what we expect to be the most beautiful place. Watching, waiting, and hoping to see a glimpse of heaven with each of her breaths was a beautiful place. The beauty of a woman who lived her life faithful to her love for God and His church reaping her reward cannot be expressed in human words. So, the two most beautiful places I have ever been are places of life beginning and life with new beginnings. Janie Roberts Davis 08/09/2025