The Nauvoo Nest: April
The April journey to Nauvoo excites all of your senses. The colors, smells, warmth, light and peace all combine together, and you feel your soul blossom.
Symbolically, a blossom means rebirth, renewal, and new beginnings. I experienced a new beginning…….traveling with a friend! Thank you Nancy for hours spent digging weeds, for a walk in Adam-ondi-Ahman, for evenings on the porch playing bird bingo, and for a sunset drive along the Mississippi River discovering ancestral lands.
It was at the Missouri River crossing, near Nebraska City, that caused us to reflect on the blossoming of America. The bud…a historical friendship between Merriwether Lewis and William Clark. In 1804 they set out to discover the mysteries of the Missouri River. The fruit of that expedition is found in the challenges our ancestors overcame to build a home in the west.
We did not get to see any flowers blossoming at the nest. We were too late for the daffodils and too early for the peonies and lilies. Although that is part of the experience, the real treasure at the Nauvoo Nest is the connections in our family trees. Our trees really leafed out with the discovery that my husband and Nancy are 3rd cousins. Profinda Atkinson, a 2yr old who died in Keokuk, 12 miles down river, helped us make the connection to our Canadian 2nd great grandfather, William Atkinson. Our efforts in family history will blossom into promised blessings!
Do you have a family history goal?