Quiet Encounters

      Mark Twain once said " Each man must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn't.  You cannot shirk this and be a man.  To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and excusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may." From an early age, Jim McWilliams had decided his path.  He did not live in a posture of defense waiting for whatever life threw his way, he choose to live marching into the unknown with full confidence, not looking back with regrets.  His simplistic, rustic Waynesboro roots of dirt roads, wading creeks and milking cows with a house full of brothers and sisters made family a deep part of his legacy.  Before loyalty to his country ever rooted in his heart, devotion to his family had seeds that ran to his core.        I have often wondered what kind of man chooses serving his country over personal fame.  He declined 4 college scholarships to

"You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing, you have taken away my cloth of mourning and clothed me with joy that I might sing praises to you and not be silent O lord my God, I will give you thanks forever."  Psalm 30:11 November 5, 2014.....a day that plays in slow motion so vividly in my mind.  I will never forget sitting beside his hospital bed listening to the The Sweet By and By   as my daddy took his last earthly breath. That day rocked me to the core, a day that no matter how much I trusted in the Lord has shaken my confidence and has made me wrestle with the Lord for hours.  I MISS MY DADDY!   This year brought so many "firsts" without my dad...but I would say my birthday was the hardest.  The hurt was deep...my heart ached to hug, smell and hear the laughter of the man that smiled over me as I took my first breath.  I listened to his messages that I have saved on my phone over and over and wept as I read his birthday card for me fro