Redfish and THE RING

We just spent another awesome summer week at Redfish Lake. This is our 5th year joining the Black Family to play in the water, catch some sun on the beach, bike ride to the store for ice cream, and lots of good food. The time just seems to fly by while we are there.
This year we had the entire family together again after a couple years while Rod was on his mission and before Daren leaves on his mission. It was so much fun to see everyone playing and laughing together. FAMILY really is what LIFE IS ALL ABOUT.
One experience will be a story that will be retold for years to come. On Saturday we awoke early and had breakfast before heading to the lake. It was Daren's 19th birthday and we had a great time soaking in the sun. It was a beautiful day and everyone had a great time. That evening it was hamburgers and as we were preparing the cobbler for the birthday, Stephanie asked Rod what he had done with her ring. She had taken it off at the beach that morning to apply sunscreen and handed it to Rod. He had placed it in the cup holder of her camp chair and thought she had known. The mood instantly dropped and silence fell over all of us as we realized that the wedding ring was gone. I remembered gathering all of the garbage as we left the beach and feeling a bump, so we jumped in the pickup and headed for the beach. I dug through the dumpster to find our sack of garbage (luckily it was an Arby's sack and easy to identify). NO luck! While I was sifting through garbage, others were on the beach digging through the sand. I checked the lost and found at the restaurant and others were going through the pickups and chairs back at camp. It was starting to get dark and we knew we wouldn't be able to see anything that night. We retired to camp and MANY prayers were uttered that night that we might find the ring.

It was a long, sleepless night. I tossed and turned and thought about any possibility of finding the ring. The possibility was slim since it might be at the beach. As we had gathered the chairs they had been dragged across the beach and one and slipped out of the bag going up the path. It could have remained with the chair until we set them up again at camp. We knew the ring could be anywhere and probably lost for good.

When it was finally light enough outside, Doug and I got up and gathered a collection of possible tools (colander, deep fat fryer spoon, plastic bowl and nail to punch holes) and headed to the beach. I took the camera because I had taken a picture of Rod and Steph the day before and thought it might help us with a location. The best tool turned out to be the fryer scoop and I started digging. The most I found was an unrecognizable nickel and a shiny dime. Doug took over the scoop and I started to just sift through the sand with my hands. We talked about possibly driving to Ketchum and finding a store with a metal detector. Doug decided to walk the path and I resumed sifting with the scoop. We had been searching a 10 square foot area and I kept uttering a simple prayer to guide me where to look. Doug came back and I decided to keep scooping until we left. I sat back for a minute to rest, but stuck the scoop on the other side of me and shook. I couldn't believe the sound - it was a clinking. Usually it was bark or small rocks left in the scoop as the sand drained out, but this time a shiny ring remained. A dozen emotions rushed through me - relief, unbelief, gratitude, and awe. Tears filled my eyes and I knew that prayers had been answered. (It still brings tears to my eyes) We were anxious to return to camp and share the good news, but first we stopped to give one last prayer of thanks as we sat on the beach alone in the morning shadows. It was a very memorable experience and we know that Heavenly Father loves us and does answer our prayers.