Light, Love, Hope

A historic event is taking place right here, right now.  South Carolina is our home, and it is so hard to see the images posted all over the news and Facebook.  There is so much damage and destruction due to widespread flooding in the entire state of South Carolina.

Thursday the entire state was put on notice that bad weather was headed our way.  When once we were worried about the hurricane that was quickly approaching, the reality is that the hurricane did not cause all of the flooding that has taken over our state.

Although we had advance warning, I am sure the majority of the people did not believe the forecast.  When my family and I took the warning seriously and stocked up on things like gas for all of our vehicles, food, and water, others did not heed the warning.

Charleston was completely under water Saturday.  It was hard to watch the news coverage where places we frequented were under water.  We watched as high tide forced waters over the rail at The Battery and flooded Battery Park.  Immediately my thoughts turned to when Hurricane Hugo came through in 1989.  There’s even a picture hanging in my living room entitled “The Storm” of that night.

Columbia, unfortunately, had a turn with all of the flooding Sunday.  Again, we watched in horror as Governor Haley had a news conference practically begging people to stay off of the roads as they were unsafe, and yet there were still people venturing out in those conditions.  I’ll admit that I get a little hot under the collar myself.  One of my Facebook friends posted that they had to get to Florence for work this week.  I immediately shared with her the things coming up in my newsfeed which indicated it was completely unsafe to travel.  Yet, she got in her car a little while later and tried to make her way through.  It took her four hours to get through what normally takes an hour travel time, and she still was not able to make it to her destination.  She was told to pull over and was able to get the very last hotel room so she would be safe for the night.  Later she got on Facebook talking about how she was freaking out when she was trying to drive in those conditions and still upset that she was now stranded in this hotel.  I’m sorry, but she should have heeded the warning and just stayed home!  We have heard of nine fatalities at this time, seven of which could have been prevented if they had just listened and stayed HOME!  This isn’t just me saying this, Governor Haley, as well as newscasters have stated this as well.

Monday, as I sit here writing, the rain is still falling outside my window.  I am one of the lucky ones, though, that has not had any significant damage at my house.  Believe me, I am so thankful to God above to live right where I live out in the country on somewhat of a hill.  The newscaster just said we have had between one to two feet fall from the sky this weekend, and yet, there’s more rain falling.

Our little town has all but shut down as bridges are flooded and major roads are impassible.  Even still, there are “thrill seekers” going out to look, take pictures, and really are putting themselves in harm’s way.   I just want to scream, “STAY HOME!” and yet I know that if they will not listen to Governor Haley and the South Carolina Highway Patrol, they surely will not listen to little ole me.

There’s concern that hospitals may have to be evacuated.  They are without water, but the fire department is pumping thousands of gallons of water into the building.  Our Governor is calling the fire department “Angels.”  They are!  All emergency personnel are angels in my eyes.  They are the ONLY ones that should be out there in all of this.

Please, if you are reading this, pray for the entire State of South Carolina as we try to recover from this historic flooding event.

Videos/Pictures of flooding in South Carolina:

WLTX

WISTV

We drove with great anticipation throughout the day.   We spent four hours on the interstate until we reached our destination with excitement building with every single mile.

As we took the final exit that would take us to our friend’s house, we decided to make a detour for some flowers.  I felt that my beautiful friend needed a bouquet of roses upon our very first live-and-in-person meeting.  Once inside the shop, I picked up the prettiest long stemmed red roses that would soon be in my sweet friend’s arms.

Back in the car we went, and 15 minutes later we pulled into the driveway.  I could contain my excitement no longer, and as soon as the car came to a stop, I opened the door, bailed out grabbing gift bags — forgetting all about those roses for the moment, and ran down the path to her house.

Arms stretched wide, me running with my own arm lugging the gift bags and the other up high in the sky with great anticipation, and finally coming together with our arms wrapped around each other in the sweetest, warmest embrace … EVER!  

This was the day that I met my online friend of 17 years in September 2014.

Debbie was the ring leader of our little group.  Debbie was the mother hen that looked after all of her little chicks.

Shortly after this picture was taken, after our very first visit live-and-in person, Debbie passed away.  I got to see her once more in November 2014 before she slipped from this world and on to Heaven with Jesus.

I am thankful for the weekend I got to see her that November.  She was really bad off, and while I did not wish to intrude, her husband was kind enough to allow us to visit as much as we wanted that weekend.  Debbie insisted!  That sweet lady, who would soon slip from this world, allowed us to spend time with her before she breathed her last breath.  My heart was so completely saddened to see her in the shape she was in, yet I was grateful for the time I had with her to hold her hand and tell her that I love her.

And yes … to give her another sweet, warm embrace even gentler than the one two months prior.

My friends affectionately call me “The Picture Queen.”

Yes, it is true, I take so many pictures and love to share them with anyone that is willing to take a look.

Why do I have this obsession with pictures?

Because, it allows you to capture the moment right when it is happening to savor the memory.

With a picture, it is as if time stands still.

That moment, that memory will forever live on now that you have been able to capture it through photography.

My pictures mean so much to me.  They are gifts that I offer my children.

While they groan when I ask that they gather together for family portraits, especially around holidays with our other relatives, one day they will appreciate how they managed to struggle through the agonizing picture taking!

Occasionally, my 18 year old daughter will go through pictures now, and she will remember all of the details surrounding that moment in time that is reflected in the picture.

That’s what it is all about!

To me, a picture has more worth than gold!  It allows me to step back in time with my loved ones that have passed on.  The memories rush back in, and for a moment in time, I’m there with them again.  Feeling those feelings, remembering what we were laughing and making those goofy faces about.  They all flood in.  I’ll admit that there are times that although the memory is a happy one, tears will slip out of the corner of my eyes and run down my face.  I realize that moment in time is lost forever, and I’ll never have another moment like this with them again in this lifetime.

The holiday pictures are so important to me.  Yet it is sad to look through the pictures year after year to see that we’ve lost precious family members.  Even still, I capture as many moments that I possibly can.

These are my memories with my loved ones, and I treasure each and every one.

I love my family!

I encourage you to capture the moment with your family as well!

Memories to treasure for a lifetime!