Little "Bits" of Buford: Overcoming Sadness by Finding “Bits” of Beauty in Everyday Life

By Tracy W. Smith

Sadness and depression can quickly overtake a person. By taking a look at those little Bits and pieces of life that are right there in front of you every single day, you can help yourself up and out of whatever circumstance you are in.

Even in times of great stress, there is beauty to be found. Maybe it is just in the song that a little bird in the tree nearby is singing for you. Hear it. Maybe it is just in the scent of a flower. Smell it. Maybe it is just in the flavor of the honeysuckle. Taste it. Maybe it is just in the raindrop on your face. Feel it. Maybe it is just in the song of the wind. Sense it. Maybe it is just in the sound of children laughing nearby. Hear it. Maybe it is just in the presence of those who love you and are sending love to you. Feel it. Even in the darkest of times, Gods goodness can be found all around us. Find it!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 2, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512792348

Tracy W. Smith

Tracy W. Smith currently pursues writing, art, photography, and music. For twenty four years she worked as a nail technician in the room next to her father in his barber shop, Buford’s Barber Shop, and currently still works in the same building in Big Lick, NC. She is a Sunday School teacher and choir director at her church, Freedom Holiness Church.   Tracy’s hometown is Oakboro, NC, but currently she lives with her husband, Tommy, and their four dogs, Stella, Bella, Rosie and Fluffy in Mount Gilead. She has a son, Blake and daughter, Hailey.   Her home in the country and shop at Big Lick (named for it’s great natural salt licks in years past), at the edge of the town of Oakboro are certainly the two places at the center of her heart. The places where she centers herself to create.   Her great passion for her Lord can be seen in her prophetic art and photography at http://7-tracy-smith.artistwebsites.com/ and on her facebook page, Tracy W. Smith Prophetic Artist, Photography & Poetry.

Book preview

Little Bits

of

Buford

Overcoming sadness by Finding Bits of beauty in everyday life

Tracy W. Smith

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Copyright © 2017 Tracy W. Smith.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scriptures marked as (CEV) are taken from the Contemporary English Version Copyright 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5127-9233-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-9235-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-9234-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017910545

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/26/2017

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1 Broken

January 2015

Tuesday, January 27: Write a Book

Chapter 2 Searching for Answers

February 2015

February 3: Puppy Smiles

February 4: The Good Shepherd

February 10: Letter to the World

February 13: Lost Dog

February 24: First Love

Chapter 3 Heavenly Messages

March 2015

March 25: Messages from Heaven

Chapter 4 Overcoming (A Kiss from Heaven)

April 2015

April 17: Spring Cleaning

April 21: Butterfly Kisses

Chapter 5 Daily Battle with the Grief Monster (Remove the Blinders)

June 2015

June 2: Poof, Gone?

June 9: Horse Rent

June 12: Snubbs

June 16: Sweetest Sadness

Chapter 6 Distracted

July 2015

July 12: Can’t Sleep

Chapter 7 Connected

August 2015

August 24: What Remains

Chapter 8 Effects of a Good Person (Realizing the Power of Impact)

September 2015

September 1: Butterfly Kisses Again

September 15: Day Trip

September 16: Muscadine Jelly

September 17: Low Valley

September 22: Roller Coaster

September 28: Blood Moon

Chapter 9 All Around Us

October 2015

October 5: Dancing Leaves

October 6: Closer Walk

October 13: Signs and Wonders

October 19: Mountains

Chapter 10 Healing

November 2015

November 9: Healing Happier

November 10: Best Friends

November 30: The Good Part

Chapter 11 Lessons from Sorrow

December 2015

December 1: Consent

December 2

December 7: Swords

December 8

December 16: Feed My Sheep

December 22: By His Stripes

December 28: Merry Christmas

December 29: Flying Swans

December 31: Ride in the Sky

Chapter 12 Open Eyes to God’s Wonders (Renewed Strength)

January 2016

January 4: Open Eyes

January 5: Pigeonhole

January 9: Simple Things

January 14: Gut Instinct

January 19: Prophetic Art (the Gift)

January 21: The Day

Sunday, January 17, 2016

January 24: Little Bits of Buford

In

loving memory of my daddy,

Buford Wayne Whitley,

Bits

Acknowledgments

I’d like to thank my husband, Vaughn Thomas (Tommy) Smith; my mother, Joann Whitley; my children, Blake Williams and Hailey Davis, and their spouses, Chelsea Goodman Williams and Brandon Davis; and my granddaughters Kirsten and Carly for their love and support throughout the year. I love you all more than words can express.

I also would like to thank my extended family for being there for me, whether in presence, thoughts, or prayers, during the year following the loss of my daddy. I would name them all, but I am so blessed to say that I belong to a very large family, and I would not want to miss naming even one because I love each and every one of them.

Along with family, a few other people have loved me and inspired me, and although we may not be related, they still seem like family to me. According to the day on which I wrote my entries, I may or may not have mentioned these names. Whether or not their names were mentioned as I wrote throughout the year, these people should know who they are, for they have been there for me and have listened to and/or inspired me in ways that are deeper than they will ever know. My nail clients, for example, especially those who have been with me for years, have all been like loving sisters to me. A very special thanks to the ones who have been with me for nearly twenty years (and some, more): Debra Smith, Myra Bowers, Jean Kennedy, Louise Floyd, Susie Austin, and my dear Frances Brown, whom I will always consider my mentor—Betty White-style, of course! I certainly can’t forget my friend Carole Shank who has always encouraged me to press forward in my creativity. I love you all! Sometimes, you never know whom you may inspire. Thank you all for your love, prayers, encouragement, and inspiration along the way.

And last but certainly not least, I’d like to thank my beautiful, loving church family at Freedom Holiness Church in Albemarle, North Carolina. I love you all and thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your love and support always.

I can’t forget our precious doggies—Stella, Bella, Rosie, and Fluffy—and my kitty, Smokey, who always—and I mean always—love me and support me and make me smile every single day.

Introduction

This book came to me as a channel of healing after my daddy passed away in January 2015. Compelled and composed because of the still small voice that had told me to write a book even before Daddy became ill, the voice became louder to me as he lay there in the hospital bed, hanging on to life here on earth. It truly had been my hope that I would be writing a story about his experience of going to and returning from heaven, as he had flat-lined on New Year’s Eve and was brought back for a while.

In his younger days as a small-framed boy, Daddy’s nickname was Bits. It warms my heart to realize just how much his nickname came into play because it’s through the bits and pieces of life—the little things that I’ve shared in this book—that I found strength throughout the year after he passed. Hence, Little Bits of Buford. Almost everyone, though, knew him as Buford—Buford the Barber at Big Lick, North Carolina (a once-thriving little town known in years past for its great natural salt licks). Even though everyone else knew him as Buford, for me, his name was Daddy.

After Daddy passed, it took a while for me to regain strength and get back to a somewhat normal feeling. As I write this, it has been over eighteen months, and I’m still dealing with the pain of losing him, but I know that he would want me to get well in my thinking and focus on the life in front of me. I looked for the messages in nature and the simple things that I felt he somehow had a part, with our Lord, in sending to me—as if they were saying, Come, let’s show her this!

But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you; Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; and the fish of the sea will explain to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this, In whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind? (Job 12:7–10 NKJV).

There is expressed beauty in nature, and I am so grateful for it. It has been through the simple notions that I have observed and thought about and through the little bits and pieces of things around me that I have pressed forward through my mourning and sorrow.

This book is not just for those who have lost a loved one; it’s also for those who need encouragement to look for the light in the darkness, to find hope in the little bits of everyday life.

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (John 1:5 NKJV).

God’s mercies on us are beautiful, and his grace is truly amazing. His grace is always there, like a seashell just waiting for us to pick it up; a beautiful gift that is free for us to receive at any moment. Yes, all we need to do is receive it, but we do have to observe it first. We have to stop long enough to see it, if only for a moment. To tune in, all we need is an awareness of God’s beauty and goodness all around us. Be aware.

Even in times of great stress, there is beauty to be found. Maybe it is just in the song that little bird in the tree nearby is singing for you. Hear it. Maybe it is just in the purr of a kitten. Hear it. Maybe it is just in the scent of a flower. Smell it. Maybe it is just in the flavor of the honeysuckle. Taste it. Maybe it is just in the raindrop on your face. Feel it. Maybe it is just in the song of the wind. Sense it. Maybe it is just in the sound of children laughing nearby. Hear it. Maybe it is in the presence of those who love you and are sending love to you. Feel it. Listen to those wind chimes that are playing a song for you. Even in the darkest of times, God’s goodness can be found all around us. Find it!

Chapter 1