The PIE Letters

INTRODUCTION

As my car slowly wound around each curve along the coast, my brain and heart were rapidly downloading all the bends and turns in life. I stopped on the side of the road, scribbling on a notepad held against the steering wheel; this would be a very long journey. I couldn’t write the words fast enough. So much had happened in my life, and I felt a hurried need to share and help others traveling similar pathways.

This is a book that started many years ago while I was on a solo road trip up the coast of Oregon. It had been four years since my husband had taken his life and thirty one years after my mother’s suicide. Life and time went on and my pen would lie still, sometimes for long intervals. And then a revival of passion, of new awareness and memories occurred, opening the path to write again. I was prompted by people I barely knew to write this book. I would stand in awe hearing His call of encouragement through these people, rocking my very soul. My faith grew tremendously in those years to a point where I was now not afraid to speak out and share my story of God’s grace, compassion, and humor. With that opening of my heart and mind, I can now understand that in all the challenges of this life, we are never alone as He guides us in his everlasting love.

Soon after my road trip, I returned to my home in Wyoming and started a “Pie of the Month Club.” My little pie business grew to 80 pies a month (made in three consecutive days…whew!). I was gaining strength in my arms from the roll of the pin while expanding my heart through sharing the gift of pie. I was given the use of a commercial kitchen about 30 miles from my home, so after a full day of baking I would head into town, my car filled to the brim with boxes of warm pie. I would pray there be no fast stops on those journeys. The road home is one of the main entrances to Yellowstone National Park and is a passageway for deer, elk, moose, and Buffalo. It is often covered in ice and snow, and a sudden crossing of wildlife could lead to pies scattered everywhere! When I turned the corner onto my street, I would see customers lined up and down the block awaiting sweet delivery. I would stand at the open hatch of my vehicle, handing out pie boxes to smiling “pie-eyed” customers of all ages. Latecomers would visit around the fireplace on winter nights or talk over the garden on summer eves.

It was more than just pie; it was a meeting place of old and new friendships.

The first “pie letter,” inspired by the death of my dear friend Paul, was taped to the top of the pie boxes. Customers called thanking me for sharing expressing hopes for more letters to come. Thus began the monthly appearance of short essays on pie and life. Many times I would see customers sitting in their cars reading their pie letters before taking off for home, giving me yet another encouraging wink from above.

To add an extra element of fun for the pie club, small pieces of artwork, called “free pie coupons,” creatively designed by friend and artist Cynthia Weed, were placed inside the lid of one pie box a month. The winner would be gifted the original piece of artwork and get a free pie of their liking. Fun was had by all.

After years of enjoying the “Pie of the Month Club,” I found it was time to put it to rest. With the closing of one door, another opened as I heard God’s encouragement to pursue my writing. And so, after years of thoughtfully weaving pie dough in a lattice design over fruit filled pie, I began a collaboration with Cynthia, to weave passions of the soul in art and words. I smile looking back on my spurts of hurriedness to finish this project, recalling the roadblocks that were set in place, realizing that with each roadblock a lesson was learned.

God’s timing again, another journey to learn about P.I.E……

PATIENCE IN EVERYTHING!!