THE ADVOCATE'S JOURNAL

I was saddened to hear about David Richetson’s death.  Apparently, everyone assumed he was recovering mentally and emotionally from his horrific ordeal in April of last year. 

Perhaps, the fact that his attackers received life-long prison sentences would help his healing process and increase our trust in the integrity of the judicial system. But it didn’t; not enough to give David hope to continue living. Even surviving such an inhumane hate crime, and giving testimony to support the passing of a hate crime bill wasn’t enough to get this young man through the pain that he lived with everyday. 

Undoubtedly, he believed that life could never be the same again; so why give it a chance; why hope? The truth is, we all grapple with this question when we face tragic life-altering experiences.  However, the answer is determined by one’s ability to live in expectation and reality simultaneously, yet able to rationally differentiate between the two. 

 Sure, people say there is always hope; it comes with the dawning of each new day.  And with it comes the opportunity to choose life one breath at a time.   

Truth? No one can ever know how they’d handle painful tragedies and experiences of life that change every aspect of life and seemingly leave no hope of normalcy ever again until it happens.  Again, truth is, many respond like David, unfortunately.  It just doesn’t always make news headline. 

 Although we can’t define hope for someone that has been atrociously victimized, prayerfully, within our circle of influence we can persist in encouraging them to search diligently for the Hope Giver; the ONE who gave us hope through through His WORD—Jesus Christ, when we needed more than fragile reality and expectations —INNER PEACE. 

My thoughts and prayers are with David’s family in this time of loss. 

May the God of all comfort be with them.  This is my hope… they that will find peace to live on knowing the truth.

The truth is, it’s ironic how we can take the small things for granted. The dawning of each day is an opportunity to live life to the fullest because you never know your end of days here on Earth.

Sometimes I’m hard on myself because I’m starting to “read” meaning into every thing that happens. It’s just that I don’t want to miss hearing God’s voice in life’s situations and circumstances no matter how minor.

This morning as I listened to the news, my heart grieved for the families of the nine firemen (William Hutcheson, Mike Benke, Louis Mulkey, Michael French, Melvin Champaign, Mark Kelsey, Brandon Thompson, James Earl Drayton, and Bradford Baity) who lost their lives doing what they loved. Although it’s a tragedy, I couldn’t help looking for some “tinge” of meaning out of such noble deeds that involved the risk of death as a way of life.

Since we know that tragedy will strike, and bad things will happen to good people, what more reason than to live life with purpose by doing what you feel life is asking of you.

As Dr. Stephen Covey says, “Find your voice, and inspire others to find theirs.” To risk your life fighting infernos to save lives and help others on a daily basis says that you found your voice. Not only that, but hearing this tragedy inspired me to find mine.

I know this truth: “To live not doing what you love to do is not living the abundant life.” -Queen E. F. Phillips

I am grateful for these mighty men of valor who will leave a legacy— live life doing what you love to do.