Ten years ago... beauty from the ashes.

A long, long time ago in a not so far away land there lived a young woman who was loved by a handsome young man. They had come together from lands afar and fallen in love. He was her Prince Charming.  She, his beautiful lady (She was definitely not a princess). They had dreams... dreams of beautiful homes, vacations to far away lands...dreams of love and a life time.

Every August they made the journey to their favorite vacation spot in far away mountains, where he played golf and she spend her days by the pool. Her greatest worry was getting a nice tan, his to win at golf...

One beautiful evening they took a romantic walk around the golf course...

 They were happy to just be together, hand in hand...

Young love, full of promise...

He held her heart in his hands, she secure in his love...

They stopped by a pond, at dusk, a beautiful mist rising from the shimmery waters, breathing in the beauty of God's creation...

When suddenly he knelt before her, holding a ring in his hand:  Will you marry me?

She dropped to her knees. Yes, my love.

He presented her with the beautiful ring. A promise of his love forever...

A moment of reflection, a deep kiss...

They talked,  dreaming of a future together. forever. happily ever after.

She was marrying her Prince Charming...

Except real life never ends like the fairy tales...

3 years later, her Prince Charming became her Angel in Heaven. She was left with nothing but tears and heartache. All the dreams disappeared.

Now ten years later, she returns to the not so far away land for the annual vacation. She returns without him, as she has more times then she cares to count.

She reflects over what she has learned in 10 years, broken hearts, broken promises, tears, healing, grace, and beauty from the ashes.. When you chose to rise above the pain, to pray through the heartache, cry healing tears, then  can you make new dreams... Dreams that align with what the Heavenly Father has planned for you. 

In this journey, she become the treasured daughter of a King and the mother of 6 beautiful children. She was privileged to experience incredible miracles and be used to work for the King of Kings. Because He needs broken people for His kingdom.