Pulling up to my house, I saw the truck dumping a massive quantity of mulch onto my driveway. As I walked up, the driver stepped out and smiled saying “That’s a lotta mulch. That’ll keep you busy today.” I smiled bravely, knowing that it had been years since we had done our own spring cleanup on the beds around our house.

This morning, I found myself sitting in a grand hotel lobby, listening to the authentically touching sounds of local Nashville music, and watching the sun's light appear over a city edging toward the full green of Spring.

Spring Break Season is in full swing. For many living in places prone to a March 30 snowfall, heading to the warmth of the American South is an annual pilgrimage of necessity as the outer limits of tolerance for cold, cloudy weather are surpassed. Hopefully, as you read this post today, you are sipping a cup of coffee looking out over blue waters and white beaches kissed by the sun’s warmth.

A growing sense of foreboding permeated every waking hour. For weeks, he'd watched as the situation worsened. Unsure. Fearful. He prayed. He cried. He struggled.

There was no rhyme or reason. No family history or health indication. What began as mild discomfort morphed into the discovery of a life-altering diagnosis. Then the battle. For life. For sanity. For hope. For normalcy.

Have you ever stopped to consider the moments when you are at your very best? Times when you are "in the zone" creatively, physically, or spiritually? In these moments, the clouds part, sunlight casts itself upon you, and clarity comes like a bolt of lightning.

To my eyes, the beach looked smooth and level. A day's rain had matted the sand down, condensing its normally deep, foot-swallowing layers into a flat and welcome walking surface. As I set my 20 month-old grandson, Cooper, onto the sand for his first walk on the beach, he gripped my hand with trepidation as he struggled to gain his balance.

"Wait for it..." Her words hung in the air as moments later the sun broke the horizon in a blazing orange burst that pushed the sky's darkness into full retreat. Minutes before, night ruled with its black grip of fear and doubt - a deep darkness brought on by hurt sown in the previous day's events.