Stars are always shining somewhere.

I know it has been a dark, difficult year for many people. Whether it has been an economic stress, health problem, rebellious child...just whatever maybe going on causing hard times. I remember as a small child going coon hunting with my father. We had two famous Black and Tan coon hounds known as Jug and Jill. We would start out after dark with nothing more than my father's trusted flashlight, 22 rifle and the two dogs. We lived in a small community known as Union Hill and hill it was. Just outside our back door were the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee written about in the history books. I never felt afraid. I never questioned our ability to find our way back home. Climbing over many a fence, catching my overalls on the barbed wired, did not slow us down for a minute. My father with his ears to the wind listening for the sound of hounds howling with the scent of a fresh raccoon track. He couldn't hear a word my mother would say at the house, but he could hear Jug and Jill from two hills over. Daddy would always say a full moon brought the risk of Jill running a deer instead of a raccoon. The bright moon would bring the deer out to graze in the fields. I can remember sitting, waiting for the sound of the hounds to finally strike a "hot trail" as my father would say. The beauty of those midnight dark nights made me appreciate the amazing wonder of the sky and it's hidden treasures. Those stars would twinkle so brightly it would seem to light our faces up as we sat on top of those hills. The moon would dance across the freshly mown hay fields causing the dew to glisten like diamonds. The smells of fresh creek water as we stepped on rocks to keep our feet dry while trying to keep up with our hounds. Today, when life seems much more complicated than those frequent hunting trips....I travel back to that simple place in my heart and remember. The thrill of the hounds finally claiming the exact tree where the masked bandit had climbed up. The determination of Jug and Jill staying until we arrived to shine the light up and catch those eyes sparkling in the tree. Life has changed. I don't have the carefree hunting trips with my father, but the thing I learned....cannot be taken from me. The same sky is over me today. The same midnight, jet dark sky. But, it is filled with the same beautiful stars that I grew to love and appreciate as a small child and no matter how dark the day may seem....those stars are shining somewhere on some hill and they have not lost their beauty or wonder and someone is looking up in amazement as they sparkle. Find your stars and not the clouds.