A Ray of Hope

The last couple of days I have been somewhat down. I really couldn’t figure it out and I hate feeling that way because for the most part I am upbeat and positive. Maybe it was because for the last month I was very busy sharing my story and that is my passion to share how God can transform a life. Sunday was the culmination of that , it was a huge day and I felt as if I was soaring . It is hard to describe but it is a natural high. Speaking to others and sharing my story is when I am in my sweet spot, I feel as if I am on top of the world. Sometimes after it is over there is a letdown I guess. Maybe that is what I have been experiencing. This morning I still felt a little sad and as I left for work I thought about 9/11/01. I was in rehab in Overton, Texas and I will never forget walking down the hall to Big Group, our morning meeting. Andy , who was in charge of horticulture therapy, was watching TV in the break room. This was strange because televisions were never on in the morning, we had no access to outside information and could only watch TV at specified times and it was usually movies that were rented once a week. The look on his face is frozen in my mind as I walked up to him and asked him what was wrong. There were tears in his eyes and he just shook his head in silence and sadness. Moments later all the residents were called to an emergency meeting and we were told what had happened. We were all in shock and emotions ran high because in times of tragedy and despair you want to be able to hold your loved ones close to you but because of our choices we couldn’t . All classes were cancelled for the day and a few of us went to pray around the flagpole. As those memories came rushing back I became a little sadder as I remember my children didn’t have their Mother or Father there to comfort them that day , that must have been so very frightening to a young child. I drove down Parker Rd and waved at Alexis’ memorial, as I always do , telling her I missed her. As I passed the crash site I did a double take because it seemed as if the roses were blooming again but I wasn't sure. This drought has been relentless and the roses died long ago . My prayer has been for them to bloom again. There is no water at the site so we take gallons every now and then to nourish the plants but it has just been so dry it seemed as if our efforts were futile. But in that moment there was a ray of hope. I quickly pulled into the Lighthouse Baptist Church’s parking lot and turned around to go back to the site. As I pulled over I could see tiny glimpses of red, it was as if they were sparkling in the sun. I jumped out of my car and ran to the cross. Sure enough the roses were beginning to bloom again, showing the signs of new life. My sadness was replaced with hope in that moment. Once again HIS glory met my suffering in the place where I experienced the toughest loss of all. HE is always AMAZING !!