Fill
With an empty feeling down deep inside, we sit and stare out into space. Since you left us, it’s been so hard to put the pieces back together. We try, but they don’t seem to fit right any more. It’s as if we’re trying to put square pieces into a round hole. It just doesn’t work.
When once we had such joy in our souls and the light shined brightly from the internal flame, now it is as if someone walked right up to us and blew it out just like you would the candles on a birthday cake.
Our hearts cry out for you. Our whispered prayers carry your name from our lips across the blue skies extending up above the clouds and into Heaven’s gates straight to the foot of Jesus. He listens attentively with this arms stretched out wide and loving kindness in every fiber of His being. He comes to us and wraps us securely in His love. He comforts as only He can and provides strength to go on.
If your heart is empty, let our Heavenly Father fill you with peace that surpasses all understanding as He pours His unconditional love over you. Allow him to begin to mend your broken heart.
~This piece was written with the prompt word of FILL in mind for this edition of Five Minute Friday over at Kate’s virtual house.~
National Lighthouse Day
Today is National Lighthouse Day! I bet you didn’t even know there was such a thing, did you? It’s true as the United States Senate passed an unanimous resolution which declares August 7th as National Lighthouse and Lighthouse Preservation Day. To read more about this, please see this article at the Lighthouse Digest.
As you might have gathered from the pictures that you see on our site, we LOVE lighthouses! When I see a lighthouse, my mind drifts back for a moment on what it must have been like for the sailors in the mist of a storm brewing. I am sure they were afraid at times and wondered how they would make it safely through the storm. If it was a particularly foggy morning, I imagine they were filled with anxiety due to being unable to see through it. I imagine how they might have been scrambling around on board preparing “just in case” when what did they see flash before them? A beacon of light from the mighty tower that stood in the distance. This light would guide them to safety! I imagine that cheers from the crew could be heard a mile away!
I just recently told one of my friends that I would like to visit every single remaining lighthouse in the United States! While I don’t like to call it this, this is an item on my “bucket list.” In the meantime, though, I will settle with visiting the ones in South Carolina that I have had the pleasure of seeing in person.
One of my favorite lighthouses in South Carolina is the Morris Island Lighthouse, which is the picture that comes up on our posts on our Facebook page when we haven’t included a picture in the post for that day. There should also be pictures in our gallery on this site which include this beautiful structure. Since I love this lighthouse so much, I won’t make you look far. I’ll gladly share them with you here! 
My family and I like to go to the very end of Folly Beach, as far as you can drive, and then park our car to set out on a little hike. At the very end of this path, you will see the beauty that is the Morris Island Lighthouse.
Once we took a boat ride over to the island to get a closer look at the lighthouse. It is surrounded by water, so it is not possible to walk right up to the lighthouse.
It was fun taking pictures of it where it looked like we were either holding the lighthouse in our hands or hugging the lighthouse. Good times! The shells on the island were beautiful as not too many people go there, so you don’t have to worry about shells getting trampled on. If you like hunting for treasures (shells), then going over to this island is a “must.”
When a friend of the family visited in April of this year, I took him over to Hunting Island to see the massive black and white lighthouse near the Beaufort area.
While the structure has been moved inland, you can climb to the very top of this lighthouse and look through the telescope which will have a mark to show you where the lighthouse originally stood on the shore. While it was quite a hike to get to the top of the lighthouse, the view was absolutely gorgeous up there!
While my friend was in town, we also visited the Sullivan’s Island Lighthouse which is in the Charleston area. Sullivan’s Island is a quiet little town with a few restaurants on the main strip as you come into town. We had to ask the locals where this lighthouse was, as we could not figure out how to get to it. They were nice enough to tell us as we chowed down on some good food and talked about the local attractions the area had to offer. Then, we put their directions to good use and set off to find the lighthouse!
It is inland now also with a chain link fence around it, so, much to our disappointment, it was not possible to tour.
My husband and I took a trip recently to Hilton Head, and while we’ve been there before many years ago, I did not remember the lighthouse there. I am not sure how I could have missed it, but there Is a beautiful red and white lighthouse at Harbortown.
We climbed to the top, although there were not as many steps in this one since it is a smaller structure, to take a look at the boats in the marina.
While we were in Hilton Head, we made sure to check out an old lighthouse that is a skeleton structure. It took a bit to get to this lighthouse as it is now in a gated community! We set out on a mission to find it, and thankfully, the guard let us through to view that which we set our sights on that day!
There are several more lighthouses in South Carolina that we have yet to see, but they are on our “to do” list! We hope to make it to those lighthouses by the end of the year! I can hardly wait! Rest assured, I will most certainly have my camera in hand when we visit, too!
Just as I told of how I imagined the sailors at the beginning of this post during the mist of a storm brewing, I’d like to share a bible verse with you and a portion of a song to tie this all together.
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness because you will have the light that leads to life.
John 8:12 NLT
And now the song:
There’s a lighthouse on the hillside
That overlooks life’s sea
When I’m tossed it sends out a light
That I might see
And the light that shines in darkness now
Will safely lead us o’er
If it wasn’t for the lighthouse
My ship would be no more(SPOKEN)
It seems that every one about us says,
“Tear that old lighthouse down.
The big ships just don’t pass this way anymore,
so there’s no use in standin’ round.”
Then my mind goes back to that one dark, stormy night,
when just in time I saw the light.
Yes, it was the light from that old lighthouse,
that stands up there on the hill.And I thank God for the lighthouse
I owe my life to Him
Jesus is the lighthouse
And from the rocks of sin
He has shown a light around me
That I might clearly see
If it wasn’t for the lighthouse
Tell me where would this ship beI thank God for the lighthouse
I owe my life to Him
Jesus is the lighthouse
And from the rocks of sin
He has shown a light around me
That I might clearly see
If it wasn’t for the lighthouse
Tell me where would this ship be
Happy National Lighthouse Day to you from all of us here at Light Love Hope!
Be Present and Available
July and August are months that my friend and I struggle to get through every year. You see, I lost my sister, Pamela, on July 9th, 2001. She died a very tragic death, one that still affects our family to this very day. My friend lost his mother a few years later on July 13, 2004. He was his mother’s primary caregiver and was there with her until the very end. The final moments will remain with my friend forever. And then, a little over a year ago, my friend lost his sister, Julia.
We have tried to go on with our lives, but there is a part of us that our loved ones took with them when they left this earth. We have been forever changed and have been impacted by these precious people that have gone too soon.
What do you say when someone is hurting? How do you comfort them in their time of need? How do you reassure them that everything is going to be okay when you have no way to ensure that it will now that their loved ones have passed away?
I find myself at a loss for words each and every year. I don’t want to be so consumed in my grief that I am not “there” for my friend in what they are going through. If my friend needs me, I want to be there for them. I think the hardest part for me is that I want to “do” something to relieve their pain, and there isn’t a single thing in the world that I can do to accomplish this. It’s unobtainable because they do hurt and their pain is real. There truly is nothing that I can say that will be of any comfort to them, and there isn’t anything I can physically do for them to provide peace and understanding. There’s no gift that I could send that will wipe away their tears.
Through the years, the only thing I have found that I can do is pray for them. I know they’re struggling, whether they say the words or not. My heart feels a special connection to their heart, and when they hurt, I hurt, too. It’s as simple as that. So, I pray. I ask God to provide peace and comfort as only He can. When I’m not physically able to wrap my arms around them due to the distance that we live apart, I ask God to wrap His loving arms around my friend, to draw him close and allow my friend to rest his weary head on God’s shoulder for a little while. I ask for peace to come over my friend, peace that could only be provided by our Heavenly Father. I ask for reassurance that my friend is never truly alone, even if he may feel that way at the moment.
I send my thoughts out into the universe, and I allow my heart to speak to my friend’s heart across the miles. That soft whisper during the evening, that’s my heart calling to his to reassure that he is not alone. He is always in my thoughts and in my heart. Miles may separate us, but hearts that truly care are always near.
The only gift I can think to give at a time like this is to let my friend know that I’m present and available should they need to talk about their loved ones or their feelings at this time. I want my friend to know that I’m always here for them no matter what but especially even more so at this time. On their “tender days” I may not call attention to it by announcing that I know what day it is, but I’m present and available, even if it’s just by sending a silly little smiley face in a blank message. That’s me acknowledging them and letting them know that I’m here.
I know my friend is struggling this week, especially. He normally carries the We Care Wednesday series. Today, I’ve taken this on to relieve him of any pressures he may be feeling at this time.
I’d like to challenge you and call you to action today. On this We Care Wednesday, if there is someone that has been on your heart and mind, will you reach out to them today? It doesn’t have to be a detailed email or a long winded phone conversation. It can just be a “thinking of you” call or “You’re in my thoughts” type of message. The point is to let someone know that you care, that you’re present, even if miles away, and available for them. Will you accept the challenge today, especially if it’s someone you haven’t spoken to in a while?
Another challenge is to consider someone that you haven’t spoken to in a while due to a difference of opinion or a conflict that arose a while back. If something caused you two to part ways, would you consider reaching out at this point? There is no guarantee of how it will turn out once you do, but the point is to put forth the effort to let someone know that you care … after that, it is up to them as to what they do with this gift that you’ve given to them. They can accept it wrapped in a beautiful bow of love, or they can turn away and choose to ignore it as the beautiful bouquet of flowers of your heart wilt. We aren’t in control of what happens or how someone will react, we are only in control of reaching out, putting forth that effort to let the other know that we’re thinking of them and that we care, regardless of the circumstances. All you can do is try … that’s all I ask.
If this is too much for you at this time, I understand. Would you, then, reach out to them through your words of prayer to our Heavenly Father? Will you whisper words of love to our Creator and ask for His hand of protection over their lives?
To my friend that is hurting at this time, I’m here sweetie. I’m available at any time if you need or want to talk, and if not, that’s okay, too. I’ll still be here whispering prayers and words of love from my heart to yours reaching across the miles that separate us … today, tomorrow … always.
