When Strength and Grace Carried Me Through We are not alone. Strength arrived when exhaustion said, “Sit down.” Grace whispered, “Stand up.” The show had to go on, and it did. There was a set to build, a book table to decorate and prepare, and a story waiting to be told. Since December, the flu virus had left my body drained. Being tired or afraid of being tired had not been an option. The Tuesday before the Friday night Zora Neale Hurston performance , I finally surrendered

Hours after discovering my husband’s affair and that his secretary was pregnant, I had to step onto center court and sing the National Anthem in front of a live audience. With my heart completely shattered, I learned one of the hardest truths: real peace isn’t found by avoiding pain , it’s found by going straight through it.

How Returning to Stillness Restores My Peace, Strengthens My Spirit, and Grounds My Life Life has a way of rushing at us — sometimes gently, sometimes like a tidal wave with no warning. Responsibilities grow. Pressures mount. Unexpected challenges knock on the door of our hearts. And when they do, there’s one anchor I always return to: Prayer and meditation. Not as a last resort, but as my first response. They are my sacred lifelines. My place of refuge. My connection to the