I Just Felt Like I Should...

This story is one of my favourites!

The last time Jeff came home to Alberta I had made a run to the boarder to pick up some things he had ordered. He was an avid online shopper! :)  As he unpacked the boxes he showed me a toque he had purchased.

 It was just like every other hunting toque but he thought it was so cool because it was reversible.  One side was camo, the other a very bright florescent orange.  He had stated to me that he liked orange but that he would always wear it camo side out because it was much too bright for the mountains.

When I was told the story of what happened one of the things that stuck out to me was that they found Jeff by his toque.  I automatically knew exactly what they were talking about, and when Jeff's "thumbs up" picture came my way and he was wearing that toque orange side out - I just cried. I knew that had happened for a reason, but I didn't know that others had felt that too.  It is so neat to find out that the impressions you are having are also being felt by someone else.  

A few days after Jeff had passed Heath sent me a some pictures.
These pictures sent me straight to my knees.

At one point in Heath's letter he stated that when Jeff had fallen all he could see was Jeff's toque about 50 yards down.  All of the Search and Rescue efforts were based around trying to find that toque.

In the last paragraph of the letter - Heath said this;

"Small miracles did happen.  The wind. The toque.  The whole trip Jeff had his toque camouflage side out.  Even when we took pictures of the goat, he turned it back to camouflage side out and then turned it back to orange on our way down.  I asked him why he did that.  He didn't know why, just that he thought it would dry a little bit better that way."

Had Jeff not flipped his toque - his body wouldn't have been found. And Search and Rescue wasn't coming back to look for him again until Spring.  What a tender mercy. I can not even explain how blessed I feel that Jeff for some reason felt the urge to switch that toque.

So many blessings in such a time of trial, but how can you not feel comfort and peace when you hear a story like that. I have shed many tears over the amazing feeling I get when I reread that letter again and again and look at the pictures that I was sent.

I hope you can feel the same!

Dakota