Excerpt from my book: Sweet William (written by Rebecca Jones)

 

Pages 9 and 11

Gabrielle acquired her love and gift of art from her mother. Her mother encouraged her to go to college and pursue that love and gift. Her mother had only finished the 11^th grade of high school; she seemed satisfied to Gabrielle to be a stay at home mom. Yet she encouraged her daughter to go into the world and grab her dream. Now that Gabrielle was older, she wondered if it had been different circumstances would her mother have been the one to go to college in search of her dream? Or was she truly content and happy on the path of life she chose? Or did that path choose her? Maybe one day she would get the courage to ask her. Or maybe it was best to leave that alone.

 

Each generation has more opportunities than the last. I look at my own mom, who had only a 11^th grade education (her dad died that year and she quit school to go to work to help the family) if she would have chosen differently. Or if life chose that for her? But she seemed happy and content, so maybe that is the key to life- to be happy and content in all your circumstances.

 

Excerpt from my book Living Between the Dash (written by Rebecca Jones)

 

Pages 73 and 74

Gabrielle walked through the gates of the Old Burying Ground. The iron gates and fence showed its age. She read the names of the soldiers that served in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Civil War. She wondered if anybody was alive that knew of these folks; some long-lost relative that would put flowers on the graves at special occasions. Probably not, she thought, because she saw no flowers. Some of the stones were so worn you could not read the names or dates of birth and death. Funny, she thought, how we live our lives between the dash.

We never know how long our “dash” is – so be kind, loving and make the most out of our days. Be the things you love most about the people who are gone.

Excerpt from my book Journey Through North Carolina (written by Rebecca Jones)

 

Grandfather Mountain

Pages 36 and 37

"There is a bridge called The Mile-High Swinging Bridge that attracts thousands of visitors each year. It is hard to take that first step, but when you do, you see a 360-degree panoramic view from the mile-high elevation. It is hard to take that first step; you ask yourself if you are crossing it for the challenge, for the scenery or to admire the fact that some engineer could build such a thing. But you take that first step and it is the right decision.

You stand on that bridge and it swings slowly in the breeze and you realize that you are not afraid. You took that first step and it led you to see something beautiful. Having faith is like taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole bridge until you are actually out in the middle of it. There were some on the bridge that took that first step and froze in place and could not seem to continue on the journey.

But how will you know if it is the right decision to step out if you never make that decision to move forward on the bridge? I learned from The Mile-High Swinging Bridge that our eyes are in front because it is more important to look ahead than to look back.

Everything you want is on the other side of fear."

I have found that our life does not get better by chance. It gets better by change. Above all, do not fear difficult moments. The best comes from them. Let your faith be bigger than your fear.