In the summer of 2018, I began to plan our annual "getaway" trip for September. From my teen years through my mid-50s, I was a retail animal. When you're leading a retail company, you don't think about taking time off between October and January. September always was the most convenient time to step away. So here I am, mid-summer, planning for September.
Big Cedar Lodge, up near Branson, Missouri, had become a bit of a favored place. We enjoyed the Ozarks and had friends in the Springfield area, so it was a go-to place once a year. But...in 2018, I didn't really want to make the 8-hour one-way drive. That's why I began to search for a place closer to home. A place within a 6-hour drive of Dallas/Ft. Worth.
I spent a few days searching online, but there was no clear, obvious winner - until I found a place called Hot Springs Village. Having never heard of HSV, I dug a bit deeper, fearing it was simply an offshoot of Hot Springs. I was not interested in visiting a town. Any town. I wanted to get OUT of town.
I searched Airbnb, found a few suitable places, and settled on a bedroom suite, booked it, and thought we were all set. Now, we endure life until we can get away.
Then, on Labor Day Monday, 2018, our world came crashing down. It was the worst time of our lives - it remains the worst, and I don't think anything will ever top it. It was a family crisis that buckled our knees. But it was beyond our control. Truth was, we couldn't even influence the outcome. So we concentrated on what we could do. The people we could support. The positive influence we could have.
Our trip was coming up fast, and here we were going through the worst of times.
I was tempted to cancel the trip, but Rhonda and I decided to go to this place we'd never been before - Hot Springs Village instead. We figured if it was even close to the depictions online, we could walk, talk, and pray A LOT. So we drove here, 5 hours door-to-door. That was awesome!
And we were immediately both puzzled and smitten with Hot Springs Village. Miles of walking. Hours of talking. Even more hours of praying.
That was the FALL of 2018. Seven years ago.
That's our context. It was our introduction to Hot Springs Village. Not a vacation. Not a search for a retirement destination. Not a fun-filled getaway. Instead, it was our journey toward respite. Respite to figure things out. A place to get in nature, together, and be alone with God.
So you can hopefully see why FALL is such a special time of year for us inside Hot Springs Village. It's a time of year that doesn't depress us, but it does remind us to enjoy life, knowing winter is coming. And when winter comes, we'll all be looking forward to SPRING.
I hope this show, Hot Springs Village Inside Out, provides a more positive and compelling reason for you to visit or consider Hot Springs Village as your home one day.
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