Light, Love, Hope

In this life, we will all have trials.  We will have things that bring us to our knees.  That’s when you realize that while you’re down there, you are in the perfect position to pray to God above!  I did just that last night myself.

A lot of times we get so wrapped up in our struggles that we forget there are those suffering far greater than us!

Greg and I have a long time friend, Charles, who passed away early yesterday morning around 3:40 a.m.   We knew Charles had been struggling for quite some time, but we hoped he had more time on this earth.  Toward the end, though, he just wanted his pain to end.  This reminded me of when my mother-in-law was battling her terminal cancer and the way she felt toward the end as well.

Today I don’t want to focus on the overwhelming sadness that poured over me when I learned Charles passed away.  Instead, I want to focus on the goodness that was all wrapped up in our Charles.

Close to 20 years ago, I came to discover a place called The Lifetime Lounge.  The television network, Lifetime, ran it, and at that time, I was addicted to watching their channel.  I ventured into their virtual world to check things out, and it ended up becoming one of my most favorite hang out spots online.

Daily I would scroll through the many posts on the Lifetime boards, and I would add my thoughts when people shared what they were going through.  Along came Fogel (because in those days, no one would dare use their real names online!).  It didn’t take me long to realize that although The Lifetime Lounge mainly consisted of women, there were a few men lurking as well.  Fogel made me smile with his shenanigans.  I would stare at my computer screen smiling like an idiot due to the things he would write.  Back and forth we would go, and oh the laughter we shared.

Little did I realize at the time, another man lurked behind the scenes.  It was none other than Greg!  He went by many names in the virtual world we would play in; ShyKnight, Gregor and The Mad Lurker are in the forefront of my mind as I reminisce on those days.  Fogel actually was friends with him in real life!

Back close to 20 years ago, I was going through a really hard time.  I was a newly separated mother trying to do the best I could for my one-year-old daughter after my husband left us.  I’ll be honest.  Life was hard as a struggling single mother.  But, along came two very funny and amusing men, Charles and Greg, to keep me smiling when I did not feel I could ever smile again.  They would send me care packages at work with items for me and my daughter.  I was taken by complete surprise when they first started doing this.  They hardly knew me, and yet they showed such kindnesses and compassion toward me.  And they never left my daughter out.  Not a single time!

While Charles eventually faded off into the background at one point, Greg remained an ever faithful presence in my life.  As I sit here with Charles and his family weighing so heavily on my mind, I am overcome with emotions as I realize Greg and I would not have the friendship we have today had it not been for Charles.  He brought us together.  Charles was a little more outspoken while Greg was the shy one.  It is because of Charles that I came to know Greg, and I can say with complete honesty that Greg has proven to be the truest friend I have ever had in my life.  Because of Charles, I have a friend of 20 years that I now consider part of my family.  We’ve had him at our house on many occasions, and this year, my daughter and I had the pleasure of visiting Greg and his aunt in Illinois after all of these years.

When we visited, my heart longed to see Charles and his family.  Yet, I knew in his condition, Charles would not allow me to visit.  Greg expressed my care and concern to Charles on several occasions, and Greg asked once more before Charles passed away if I could visit him.  I knew Charles would say no, but I had to ask any way, just one more time.  Despite Charles not allowing me to visit, I sent my love, hugs, and prayers to him and his entire family.  I asked Greg to relay a message to Charles days before he passed, and I have complete faith that Greg did just as I asked.

This entire situation has been so hard on Greg.  He has lost a lifelong friend, yet he forces himself to go to work and act normal when inside his heart is breaking.

I have such love in my heart and a deep feeling of gratitude toward Charles.  As I remember him, and all of the many conversations we had through the years, I will always thank him for the gift of introducing me to Greg.  Charles gave me the greatest friend I’ve ever had in this life.

You are brave, dear princess warrior

Far more than you can see

Fighting mighty battles

That would bring others to their knees

No fear shows in your eyes

Nor tremble in your voice

You put on your shield for battle

Having no other choice

Clothed in honor and dignity

Ready for the fight

You know you won’t be defeated

Because you’re guided by His Light

For what God brings you to

You will not face alone

He is right beside you

Making His presence known

He has great plans for you

There’s purpose in your pain

His love will see you through it all

Time and time again

Recently, my family and I took advantage of a teacher’s workshop week where the students did not have school!  We decided to take a little road trip, and in doing so, we found peace, solitude, and felt rejuvenated once more.

Today I’d like to share a few things we saw along the way.

Waterfall chasing is a favorite pastime of mine, and my family suffers through.  On this particular Fall day, it felt more like Summertime!  Rain had fallen most of the night and into the morning; however, lunch time found things heating up more than we had planned for when we set out on our daily adventure.  Long sleeves were certainly not my friend as I hiked up the steep mountain and rocky slope for this particular waterfall at Jones Gap.  I set out with great anticipation looking forward to the sight I would see at the end of our hike, only to be drenched in sweat looking for our great reward.  And, we found it!

Hot, sweaty, and tired, we reached this waterfall where all grumbling turned into great excitement once again.  This picture does not do this waterfall justice!  Around those rocks we went to the right hand side where we could feel the cool mist from the waterfall as it splashed down the side of the mountain, hitting rocks along the way, refreshing our soul!  Ah, it was all worth it in the end!

Another picture from our trip that I’d like to share with you is of another waterfall we visited the next day; Triple Falls.

This waterfall is in Dupont State Park, and a few years back, we rode our horses right on those very trails.  I have a picture on my computer at work of me on my favorite horse, Sugar, with Triple Falls in the background.  They have had some construction since we last visited, and this time, you could take the steps all the way down to the base of the falls!  It seemed like a million steps to get down there, but once we did, it was breathtakingly beautiful!  I could have stayed there forever listening to the sound of the water rushing in, with the cool refreshing mist in the air.

I always feel so close to God out in the middle of His beautiful countryside.  It just amazes me that He created all of these beautiful waterfalls and makes the leaves change colors in Fall, much to our delight!  Although this picture certainly doesn’t show it, there were swarms of people with their tripods and cameras set up trying to catch the perfect angle and shot of this waterfall.  The people were almost a bit too much at times, when all you truly wanted to do was enjoy the peaceful serenity this sacred place had to offer.

Feeling spiritually connected, we longed to visit “Pretty Place,” an open air chapel on the side of a mountain.  We stumbled upon this jewel a few years back, and we visit as often as we can.  It took us three attempts before we finally made it up to our special place due to the fog that settled in after the rain.  Determined as we were, we were not giving up and going home without sitting in the seats of this chapel and praying to God up there on that mountain!  And so we sat in silent reverence, heads bowed, praying to God above.

After sitting there for quite some time, I decided to really take a look around at the plaques lining the front of the chapel.  I walked up to each one and read their message and the dedication in memory or honor of this person or that person.   The words seemed to leap off of the bronze right into my very soul.