Gayle

There were 14 of us in our family while I was growing up. Sometimes we got attention and sometimes we didn’t. With my dad, you had to have a lighter complexion to get any attention. Even at age four I started to see the favoritism, as he only held certain daughters on his lap. I didn’t get to sit on his lap, or my sisters, with the same complexion as myself. I soon realized to not even try to get too close to him. I started having feelings of dislike towards my father and later a hatred...

With my geology degree, I found myself sitting in the middle of the ocean and being offshore nine months out of the year. Having just gotten married in March of 2024, I was optimistic for a remote position that would allow me to be with my new bride and regularly attend church. The contract for the rig I was on was not renewed, so consequently, I was out a job! It was a sink or swim situation. I prayed, asking the Lord for wisdom and favor in the coming weeks. My manager called, saying a...

First of all, I must let you know that Gayle, my precious husband, has given me permission to write and share this to bring hope where hope may be needed: "A rose is a rose is a rose" is a famous quote written in 1913, often interpreted as meaning "things are what they are". Having a husband drunk in the early years of our marriage, my twist to the rose quote could have been “A drunk is a drunk is a drunk.” He’d drink at friends’ homes and go to bars with the husband of my friend while she...