So…I was concerned about what people think. Prayer, time and too much drama cured me of the stink eye of others. With years of “philosophizing and theorizing” came hopes and dreams I shared with few. It did not take long before I awoke to the critique of pragmatists. To the contrary, my mother and father habitually adjusted to the array of future occupations, which flooded my imagination as a child and adolescent. “You can accomplish anything of which you can dream”, my parents would offer. Though my mind did not settle on one distinct profession, my soul found God and settled for nothing less.

The short version: Hope was my mainstay and time afforded me the opportunity to recognize a few essential facts of life. First, people come into our lives for a reason, season or a lifetime and they are all gifts. Second, miracles happen more frequently than the imagination can grasp and God is more powerful than any situation, circumstance or life event that may appear to overwhelm us. Third, when we become blind, deaf, mute or paralyzed due to pain, turmoil or tragedy—peace and healing are inevitable once we allow ourselves to take the first step forward. Forth, life is given perspective with death. When death appears at our doorstep the only experience we can take with us is love; everything else is trite.