Slice Of Hope - Stories Of Inspiring People

Today is the next installment in my Slice of Hope Series. I want to introduce you to a woman who has won my respect, admiration and affection, and after hearing her story, I believe she will win yours as well. For the sake of her family’s privacy, I will refer to her only as Lily. Did you know that lilies are a noted symbol of refined beauty and purity? They are a strikingly beautiful flower that grows atop a strong stem and is surrounded with the sweetest of aromas? That description fits Lily as she is amazingly strong, but with a gentle and sweet spirit. So, let’s get straight to her story. Lily was raised by extremely strict parents on a rural working farm in New York. Her days were long and demanding, and she felt isolated from much of the world. There was love in the home, but there was also fear and worry and even chaos at times. Escape came at the young age of 17 when her parents allowed, and even encouraged, her to marry. In fact, this young man, who was the son of prea...

I decided, at the first of the year, that I wanted to share stories of people who inspire me.  Inspiration comes in all shapes and forms and all the people I wish to highlight have impacted me in some manner. They each offer a Slice Of Hope into my oftentimes crazy world, and  my  hope is by introducing them, I will share that slice with you; My Hopefuls. My first person, is really two persons; sisters to be exact. Shelley and Kelley. No, they are not twins, and in fact, they would probably be the first to say they are quite different on many levels. The one thing they do share however, is their dedication to family and their belief in determination and hard work to accomplish their goals. Shelley is the older of the two; a little shy, kept more to herself but always watching and listening. She married a great guy, had a son and then a daughter and life was beautiful. It wasn’t perfect, but it was beautiful. She was a stay at home mom and devoted her lif...