June 09, 2003 4:51 P.M.

Something I Caught In The Net

Last week I closed my entry on Friday with this paragraph, �I am attending a women�s conference in Anaheim, CA this weekend. I will be casting out my mental net to catch some good thoughts to share with you.�

So as I sat in the darkened arena of 8,000, intently taking in the words of the five main speakers spotlighted on the stage, I listened, and I thought of all of you. I wished I could have packaged it all together and wrapped it up as a gift to share. But, of course, there was far too much.

If it were condensed into one encapsulated thought, each of the speakers conveyed hilarious messages with startling impact. About half of them could make their livings as stand-up comediennes. But of course, that was not their purpose. Their purpose was to give a nugget of faith filled hope in the midst of �every-woman�s� challenging and sometimes crisis-filled life. Their stories, were OUR stories. Their nugget of hope, became ours.

Perhaps the most riveting, was the guest speaker for the weekend. Not a regular member of the conference team, she was the widow of the Commander on the most recent and tragic flight of the Space Shuttle.

Evelyn Husband quietly described how she and her two small children had awakened the morning of the shuttle�s return to earth, and had prepared for its landing. She told how excited they had all been to watch the sunrise over the Florida coastline, as they dressed for the adventure of watching the shuttle landing.

Sunrise in Daytona, Florida; Marcia 3/03

Evelyn poignantly related the details of excitement turning to shock as the giant clock at the Space Center counted down the minutes until the landing was to occur, and�the eerie terror filled silence of the vacuum, when it came time for �touchdown�, --- and the clock started counting back again.

In the ensuing days and weeks, when she was thrust into the public�s spotlight time and time again�this ordinary homemaker/mom who �happened� to be the Commander�s wife, who was struggling with her own indescribable grief and loss�Evelyn was called a woman of great stamina and courage by many.

But she knew how to give credit where credit is due. She knew her own weakness, and she knew Who was strong. That night at the Anaheim Convention Center as she was sharing her story, she gave her own definition of courage.

She said simply; �Courage, is fear on its knees, in prayer.�

I still have much that I caught in my net. I have to sort it all out. But I wanted to share this little story before I let it slip away.

I think most of you know that I have macular degeneration and have lost the central vision in my eyes. On the computer I work with magnification programs, and I have great fun doing it.

Today I had one of the scheduled follow-up exams, a little over a year after my last laser eye surgery. Everything is stabilized at the present time. A good report.

Hope life is good for all of you. Thanks for reading.

Text � copyright 2003 - 2008 The Homespun Philosopher

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