For the All About Me challenge #4, Miranda asked us to scrap a turning point in our lives. She writes: I think everyone has had a turning point in their life. A moment your life changed, even if you didn't realize it at the moment. It can be something small, a big event, a choice you made, that influenced your life and had a huge impact. Of course it can be a happy turning point, but it may be a sad one too. So... what was a turning point in your life??
Although it's a painful post, I am grateful today to be able to move through the ashes of pain and forward to brighter days. For me, that turning point was 10 years ago - *that day* was in July 1999. Although these pictures are current, the events that happened in just a few weeks time have really been a milestone change in my life that has shaped me into the person that I am today. Those events were the catalyst that have changed the life I knew, shook my confidence as a person and parent to my core, and will live with me for the rest of my life. A snipet from my journaling card reads: "In just a few weeks time, life sent my way the pain of my parents announcing their divorce after 36 years of marriage. Only days later, I sat diligently by my baby daughter's hospital bedside crib for over a week as she fought for her life after a near-fatal accident, begging God to take me instead of her, even though I had two baby daughters still at home that needed me, too. The pain and anguish and guilt proved to be the winner and I lost the baby I was carrying - what would have been our 4th child - to a painful miscarriage. I was fortunate to have a supportive husband and friends - no one blamed me, but I carried enough guilt and blame to last a lifetime. But through that pain and darkness, my faith never faltered and I always kept my eyes and heart on Him, and know to this day that His greatness & love for me has helped me move forward ...... and it's that support and unconditional love that brought me full circle to Finding My Way Back. I leave you today with Isaiah 41:13, one that I carried with me for a long, long time as I reminded myself that He will always be there to help carry the burden :) TFL and blessings!
Deets: Bazzil Vanilla cardstock and Summer Sun from SU; DSP = K & Co; clock stamp from Heidi Grace Designs; misc embellishments, journaling paper Paper Crush & from Mary Engelbreit