When I'm Gone

I'm struggling with this one but it's heavy on my heart.  I think it's because I have lost three friends in two weeks.  Two of them I went to school with and the other was a neighbor for many years.  So where do I begin?  I really don't know, so I'm hoping as I type, the right words will come to mind.  You see it's hard to see these families in so much pain and there's nothing I can say or do that will ease that pain.

I know there aren't any answers, but that doesn't stop me from asking why.  I understand that sickness can ravish a person's body and there aren't anything doctors can do.  But I wonder what makes it that one person with the same disease can be healed and the other isn't.  I know everything I've been taught is God has a plan.  Again I just wonder what could the plan be that a person is taken from us here on earth.  Surely there is more to be done here for a person my age.  How does God determine who and when a person's time here is done.  Again, let me stress to y'all reading this, I'm not questioning God's will, I know it's his time and I know there are reasons, it's just sometimes I don't understand.

I think about these three friends and I know they lived their lives their way and I don't see anything wrong with that because I'm the same way.  There are certain things I want my way and I don't care what anyone thinks about it.  This brings me to my friend Conley White, which is why I'm writing this.  Conley was a singer/songwriter who lived his life "his way" and that's the way he wanted his last days..."his way."

Ya'll that have been following me for a while know I love the trusty Google.  So I reached out to the Google to see what I can find about my friend Conley.  I found so much more interesting stuff than I knew but one thing I found that ya'll might want to hear is this interview with KHLT Recovery Radio Station.   During this interview Conley talks about his struggles with addiction, his recovery and how he tries to help others, especially what he calls a newcomer to recovery.  He gives his CD's away at meetings to these newcomers and I quote "hoping to give them HOPE."   He also talked about going to AA meetings and that every time he went to a meeting as soon as he walked in the room he would pray and again I quote "God if there is somebody in this room I can help and encourage please point them out to me.  God is a gentleman, he's not going to show up where he's not wanted."  He said more times than not, someone would come up to him after the meeting and ask him for help. This is powerful, I don't care who you are.

LESSON TODAY:   Searching for the right words and low and behold they're right here in this interview.  Monty Dale Meyer, the person interviewing Conley, last words on the interview are going to be my lesson today and I quote..."Do something now that will make the person you will be tomorrow proud to have been the person you are today."  Now that's a lot to take in so if you're like me, you might have to read it more than once.  I want to add to what Mr. Meyer said by saying myself...if you're struggling for whatever reason, don't be afraid to reach out to someone.  If anything I've said in this post or anything you hear in Conley's interview makes you feel help is needed, then I pray Conley's prayer that if you need encouragement, don't be afraid to reach out to someone. That someone might just be a message from our friend, Conley White.

  LOVE TO ALL,
  Sweet Southern Sass