Utter Darkness and Devastation
Friday, the 13th of May, 2005, was the darkest day of my life. There will never be appropriate words to describe my state of mind on that day. Affectionately nicknamed Dude, Myles, a comical and very energetic little guy who loved computer games and playing sports, was gone. Booboo, the nickname I gave to Courtney, a smart young lady who always had a smile on her face and a word of encouragement for everyone, was also gone. As if that were not devastating enough, LaVerne, the love of my life was fighting for her life with every breath, she took. In the span of one night, the brightness that I genuinely believed to be our family's future was engulfed by pitch black clouds that suffocated every ray of light. The sparkle in their eyes, the light from their smiles, and the glow of their personalities which inspired me everyday was suddenly gone. My soul, like Jonah's body in the Bible, had been swallowed by a big fish and was taken to the dark abyss at the bottom of the ocean void of any kind of light or joy. According to Scripture, Jonah spent three days in this state of utter darkness. The days of darkness for me turned into many months of not seeing the light. But like Jonah, I came to a point where I called out to the Lord: “and said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heard my voice” (Jonah 2:2, KJV). Yes, the cry of an ordinary man who loved the Lord and his family was heard, and God answered me and gave me the same power and strength He gave to Jonah when he felt all hope was gone. God's revitalizing energy steadily infused my spirit and quickly began to dissipate the seemingly impenetrable black clouds that had hovered over me for so long. As the clouds cleared, I started to see how the bright future I had previously envisioned had been superseded by God's glowing master plan designed specifically for Wayne, Laverne, Courtney, and Myles to fulfill.
