Give Thanks...For Another Winter Night In Garland

 I'd most likely heard of Garland, Utah before we moved, but I wasn't sure I knew where it was. I'm sure back in the day Garland was independent ,with a buffer of fields and roads separating it from the other communities in the area. It's no longer the case. Like so many communities, the line where one town ends and another begins is defined by a road, or a fence. On one side, the mail is delivered to one town listed on the envelope, on the other side of the street/fence, the town  listed on the mail is something else.

Even in this little valley.

By the time we arrived, Garland blends into Tremonton to the south. I'm not exactly sure where that line is, but I know the high school is in Garland, and by the time you hit Kents Grocery Store, you're in Tremonton.

So, when I snapped a picture of a beautiful full moon on a crisp winter night, from my perspective it hung directly over the small, quaint hamlet of Garland.

The landscapes are different here. It's been a while since we lived in a valley, having lived for decades on a hillside with a narrow valley separating one mountain range and a large lake. Everything was condensed, mashed, crammed in...homes, businesses, roads, parks, even trails. If you stay in your home and never venture out, you don't feel the outside world encroaching, but once you leave, it surrounds you.

I'm thankful to live in such an amazing place. I'm thankful for the people and for the land. I've fallen in love with the views, the openness, the fields where one day hundreds and thousands of homes will rise from the ground proving sanctuary for those inside.

But for now, a full moon shines below a valley, sparsely dotted with homes and farms and families...all praying for a safe night.