Once upon a time........

There was a young girl who loved to watch people and hear stories of their lives. They would show her pictures of the places they went to, and told the most wonderful stories about the events that happened to them there.

The young girl would dream about traveling to distant countries and of taking tons of pictures. Pictures that would remind her of every event of her trip, and would help her tell stories of her travels to her friends and their family, just as they did to her.

She dreamed of what the places would look like, smell like, taste like. But sadly, she felt she probably would never see her dreams come true.

She lived in a house with one parent and tons of family who were poor and always caught up in the drama of life. They constantly told her what a mess up she was, how she would never make anything of her life. So although she had the flame of hope in her heart, it was slowly being suffocated by the negative forces around her.

As she grew up, she began the slow decent into the abyss of selfishness. After years of abusing herself and others, she came to a point in time where she felt numb, and then finally, nothing at all.

She began taking long drives around the town, thinking of all the time she had wasted, and wondering what the purpose of her life really was. She felt alone and abandoned.

One night she found herself at a church building. Unsure of why, she later found herself inside sitting in a dark corner, listening to the stories and watching all of the people. These people had so many good and bad things to talk about, but the way they spoke of these things was different. Although they had difficult lives, they still had hope, something this girl had forgotten about a very long time ago.

Many years passed, and the girl continued to go to the church and listen to stories of Jesus.

One day, it all made sense. She realized she had never been alone during all of her dark days. Although her parents and family had abandoned her in many ways,God was right there by her side, or carrying her the whole time. She was baptized right then on the spot, in the backyard of her spiritual family's house in a horse trough.

After that night, her life changed forever. She found herself trying to be a better person, and began finding the flame of hope she had lost so long ago. She knew that one day she would find her life's purpose with God's help.

And so here I sit, ten days away from taking a trip to India to experience another culture, to hear stories of many people, and to make a record of them on film. Plus a chance to tell them my own story as well.

God is always in charge, and anything is possible with Him.

THE END
Well, not really. It's just the beginning. But you will have to wait until I get back from India to find out what happens next. And so will I. Till then..............