I got a short email from a friend yesterday whom I haven’t seen or spoken with in perhaps 15 or so years. She is a world class photographer and has done photo shoots of numerous celebrities including musicians such as the Rolling Stones, governors, professional sports figures, and the like. She was photographing the winners of the Business Person of the Year award in Atlanta which I was the recipient when I got to know her.
We became friends and she did several family shoots with my family and me. She took a keen interest in my testimony and decided to do a short video trailer for my book reenacting my early life and my arrival on Luckie street in Atlanta where I eventually was changed forever by becoming a Christ follower.
Her letter was as follows:
Hi Bob – I hope you’ve been doing well. It’s good to see that you still write Words for the Day. It’s been a while. I’ve had a lot of grief to process. It never goes away, but eventually, you learn to live with it. I just wanted to let you know that Michael passed away in 2020. He suffered fatal brain injuries from a 4-wheeler accident. Very sad . . .
I called her and we talked for perhaps an hour. She had led a rocky existence since we last spoke. Her first child passed away which caused untold grief. Then as mentioned in her letter her close friend Michael died due to a four-wheeler accident and then another lady who worked on producing the video with us died of an overdose. Her first marriage ended primarily due to the stress of the death of her child. She remarried and found out a few years later that her second husband was cheating on her and had a child with his mistress. Another divorce ensued. There is more but suffice it to say she has been through hell and back.
Numerous friends have recently experienced similar calamities with loved ones including death, divorce, serious accidents that left loved ones in wheelchairs, loss of finances, and so on. My friend has weathered the storm and has a bright and positive attitude toward life. She has drawn very close to God and thus is filled with hope. This is not to say she is unaffected by her tragic experiences, as she said in her original email, It never goes away, but eventually, you learn to live with it.
My brother lost his five-year-old adorable child to brain cancer. He told me that unless you go through losing a child yourself you cannot know the extent of the pain it causes. My friend told me the same thing yesterday. Life can be tough; I know because I have experienced it firsthand including the death of my brother due to suicide a few years after his son died. But those experiences did help build my character and though there is still a hole in my heart I have learned to live with it.
My friend took the following photo which she took at Honey Lake years ago and had it made into a magnet that she put on her refrigerator.
She told me she looks at every day and it provides comfort to her. It is a photograph of a pale-yellow day lily on Honey Lake that is just beginning to open to a new day.
She has learned to hold on tightly to God and let go of her anxiety. So many of us need to do the same and open our minds and spirit to a brand-new day that is wonderful and enjoy it. Each new day is a gift from God. Trust him for He will never leave you.
Deuteronomy. 31:6
The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”