THE STORY OF JOURNEY WITH ME
Fran Lyons, Founder
I have often been asked, “Where did you get such a wonderful idea?”
My answer is, “It came on the wind one night when I was tenting at the Dolly Copp Campground in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.”
In 1991, I returned to college to pursue a degree in English. Creative writing was a component of that program. By the time I graduated in 1994, I was excited about life, excited about reading the masters and in love with fiction writing. Being free to create and use imagination opened up a whole new world. My cousin, Nancy Feroldi, was Director of the Rhode Island Nursing Home Alliance. On a visit she said I should share my excitement with senior citizens.
The seed was planted.
My husband and I were on an excursion to celebrate our 30th anniversary. We stopped at a country store in Worthington, Massachusetts. John went to buy store cheese and a paper. I looked at postcards. A greeting card caught my eye. An eagle and this verse became my creed: “God grant you the strength of eagles’ wings, the faith and courage to fly to new heights and the wisdom to rely on His Spirit to carry you there.”
The seed was watered.
Later that summer we were tent camping at the Dolly Copp Campground. I was awake for several hours during the night. The wind was strong and idea after idea came to me to begin this program. I felt the wind carried the ideas.
The next morning John took me to Pine Mountain. At the top we watched an eagle soar. A train chugged up the distant mountain, symbolic of the mountain I was being asked to climb. On the way down we took a side path and listened to a youth group on a nearby hill singing praise to God. They were gathered around a huge wooden cross. When we do for others we praise God. A pair of doves flew before us all the way down the mountain. Peace.
The seed grew.
I came home and began work on the Journey With Me Program. All the people I needed were placed in my path. I was so busy carrying out my mission that my husband, a college professor, suggested that I use intern students to help. The confluence of ideas lends itself to mutual respect and understanding between generations.
Fruition.
