View allAll Photos Tagged Heartbroken
This cute little straydog followed us around on a walk in Greece. Handsome little fellow and quite clever. We were on the verge of taking him along… but decided to leave him and his 3 companions some food and water and carried on. Somewhat heartbroken though…
adj. Suffering from or exhibiting overwhelming sorrow, grief, or disappointment.
Overcome by crushing sorrow; deeply grieved.
Day 95 : 365
I was a bit miffed (actually heartbroken - Mlle Jolie I need you in my life!) about not being able to get any of the Boudoir dolls... so I decided to style my own dolls in my very own Boudoir Collection! First up - Veronique! I hope you enjoy!
I grew up in Iowa, on a farm, surrounded by animals. Pigs, namely. Much of my desire to be a veterinarian was fueled by my environment, and I used to spend long hours in the barn, kneeling on a bed of straw, helping piglets be born and nurse and thrive.
One of the defining moments of my childhood was a night I spent trying to revive a piglet that had recently been born, one that seemed to have a pulse but failed to breathe. I only had the faintest idea of what I was doing, and, honestly - knowing what I know now - I couldn't have done anything differently. But my failure to save that one life was particularly heartbreaking, and as I walked out of the barn that night and stared up at the cold December night sky, the stars so chillingly bright, I remember vowing that someday I'd be able to save those lives.
Fast forward about twenty years, include a Bachelor's in Animal Science and a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine... and I still sometimes I can't save them. Today I watched a lovely, sweet, young patient crash shockingly and unexpectedly, and despite all the treatments and medicine and therapy that "should" have made a difference... it didn't. A few hours of trying, a few hours of watching that animal struggle and suffer... a few hours of pacing, of hand-wringing, of heart-pounding worry... and in the end, when I had permission to end it all, I cried while doing so, and that feeling of helplessness returned. The sense of futility that my younger self had once experienced reared its ugly head again.
I blame it on the wild ideals of my younger self, who thought that with proper knowledge and medicine any animal could be saved. This is far from the truth, of course... but deep down, a part of me is still so very heartbroken when those beliefs are sometimes gently, sometimes cruelly, proven wrong.
No comments necessary, really (or any words... I'm fine, just introspective), so I'm going to turn them off. In the meantime, these sheep make me happy, as they always do. Maybe they can make you happy too.
(It appears that if you belong to a Flickr Group that this photo is in, you can comment... didn't realize that.)
Unfortunately, the Swirl was so upset because he destroyed her precious handkerchief, she continued on her way and never looked back.
The gentleman was heartbroken...
The end.
she is very sick, so its Hopeful furry Friday.
a few hours later, I had to let her go. I am heartbroken.
2000-2014
Here is how I'll remember her:
www.flickr.com/photos/69659670@N00/sets/1632288/with/1419...
Original art by Lisa Betournay. #fineart #painting #skeleton #skeletonart #darkart #heartbroken #skeletonpainting #acrylic #acrylicpainting #surrealism #brokenheartpainting #sadskeleton #ouroborosart
Tagged by: Amy, Oliver and Tiffany
Are you single/taken/heartbroken/confused?
Taken
What if I told you that you were pretty?
I'd say thank you with my puppy eyes
What are you looking forward to in the next week?
no plans, it to much rainy..
Do you want to be single?
No
Have you pretended to like someone?
never
Is it hard for you to get over someone?
yes...
What would you name your future daughter?
when i was kid i had few names on my mind but now i feel like i need wait to choose :)
baby personality and fings like this
Are you good at hiding your feelings?
im good actress, but I prefer to be honest
Are you listening to music right now?
no but was b4 come to work
How is your heart lately?
beating :p
Are you wearing socks?
yes dude
What do people call you?
Diuli when good mood but if i did somefing not so pleasant my whole name, Diuliane :p
Will you talk to the person you like tonight?
probable by mail
When was the last time a member of the opposite sex hugged you?
saturday
Do you get stressed out easily?
Yes
Who do you go to when you need to talk to someone?
my loved one
What is on your wrists right now?
sleeves, its winter :)
What do you like better: hot chocolate or hot apple cider?
hot chocolate
Are you a good artist?
i know how to do many fings but i dont feel like im really good in somefing :x
Do you miss the way things were six months ago?
no, miss the past maybbe can mean that im not doing right the present
Ever stayed up all night on the phone, with who?
No, im to much sleepy :p
Do you use chap stick?
not to much but yes i use :)
Do you have a little sister?
not a little but im the older one, Fran is 21 and Andressa 13 (she is not so little any+)
Have you hugged someone within the last week?
very tight
What were you doing at midnight last night?
i was watching the last ep of Game Of Thrones second season! im so anxious for the 3Âş season
Have you ever regretted kissing someone?
Yes, teenage days
Were your last three kisses from the same person?
Yes
Will next Friday be a good one?
I hope so
If you tagged means that i really want you to answer this same questions :D
Lonely Heart
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My boy Marley went missing on 4/11/17 and I am heartbroken!!!
I've had him for a little over 8 years and he has never wondered off. He has always stayed within eyeshot of my house!!! I've looked everywhere surrounding my house with no signs of him. With the drug problem that's running so rapid in Southern Ohio I'm afraid that someone may have picked him up to sale for drug money or there is a big Trade Days Flea Market taking place this weekend in the Scioto County just south of me. If any of my flickr friends in my surrounding area happens to see or hears anything please contact to me asap by commenting or emailing me. Thank You!!!
Kmart Discount Store located at 10321 East 21st St. in Tulsa,OK. This store which opened on November 9th 1972 is closing on September 3rd 2017. This store was the first of four stores located in the City of Tulsa and ended up being the last of the four stores in operation. I had the pleasure of meeting an employee known among the crew as "Mrs. Leanne". She had worked at this store since 1977 and had very fond memories of working for the Kmart Corporation. She was heartbroken when she learned of the closure of "her" store but knew the day would come once Eddie Lampert became CEO of the Company. One of her favorite memories was the daily store meetings held in the Kmart Restaurant where the employees and managers would chain smoke discussing the daily blue light specials. The future of the building is unknown.
February 18, 2011.
Comments off.
Well, those aren't my hands.
Compulsion.
If I were to paint compulsion in imagery, it would be flaming hot, fiery tongues of fire, in ethereal shades of brilliant sunset and heartbroken scarlet, licking at a human running from it, consuming its silhouette, flickering. Monstrous, yet dangerously beautiful, attracting you to it, forcing your eyes to consume it with silent longing.
That's what makes me continue.
I will never give up.
Have you ever felt so heartbroken that your heart actually begins to hurt?Can our feelings become so strong so in the end the pain takes a physical form?When our heart aches it feels like it constantly drops while it beats, each beat burns inside like you're about to fall.
Have you ever felt what it's like to go on like it never happened?
I surely can't.
I am satisfied for being able to feel everything SO uncontrollable and unbearably deeply instead of pretending like you were nothing to me at all.
Clyde has been very ill for the last 6 months. He passed away on 1/13/16 (10 days ago... I just couldn't work the pic for a while), at the age of four and a half. FOUR AND A HALF!!!!
I am heartbroken over the unfairness of death. This dog did not deserve to go so young. He was the sweetest thing on the planet and my all time favorite photographic subject, since I started watching him at three months old.
What did he die of, you ask.... congestive heart failure. He put up a brave fight as did his "Peeps". They had the fluid in his lungs cleaned out just about every week or so. They are crushed by this loss.
Clyde was beyond special. You can witness that through all the pics I posted of him, here on flickr. Just put his name in the search button.
This is the last picture I took of him three weeks before his passing.
Hope to see you again someday, Clyde... You will be greatly missed...
The vibrant Japanese Rose.
I have a few pots of japanese roses and these are tiny flowers that grow in abundance. Tiny, but vibrant. I normally look at them as `the tiny pink flowers' but when I decided to do some macro shots, I was pleasantly surprised to find another flower within a flower.
Sadly today, I found out that another close family member had been diagnosed with cancer. And I am really heartbroken. This Japanese rose reminds me to look closer and spend a little more time .... on what's important.
Gonna be busy for a while. To all my muslim friends, Selamat Hari Raya!
Will be off to Singapore at the end of the week for a short break and to visit family.
Have a good week ahead Flickr Friends.
Her name Aleya Begum.
she came our home for some money. I was a little annoyed that aren't u able to work? Then she began to speak that her husband left her, she was housemaid for earn money to pay her children education cost. Today children are educated but now they hate her.. and thrown out from the house ! Aleya lost everything and so much sick also; that's why she is begging and live in a slum on the street. U know! That day when i was stand front of her, i could not hold back my tears. I just briefly describe here but that was a long and painful story.
Condemn china and stop buying any thing Chinese; they only understand the word of money . China gives a damn to Peace talk and militarily too powerful ; they can only be stopped through economic warfare. No UN or US sanction is needed ( they will never dare to do that) let there be a Sanction from The Peace Loving Population of this world. Boycott every product which is “Made in China”. Let there be a People’s Economic Blocked. Save Tibet .
### This is an open forum ; it is not necessary that I support all the opinions expressed here.
While I think about all I have to be grateful for on this Thanksgiving day, I can't help but be heartbroken by the death of the six children in Chattanooga TN a few days ago in a horrible school bus accident. It reminded me of a very similar accident back in 1959 in Garrett County MD that I learned about this summer. We visited this memorial back in June, and I was very moved by the joyful sculpture and beautiful poem.
When I immigrated to Canada at the age of 17 I went through a culture shock. The most differences between the Canadian society and the Iraqi society are the lack of commitment, and how lightly love is treated here. I first came to realize that commitment is not highly valued here at my first summer job: people simply didn't care about the company, the products they were producing, their co-workers, or the owners—they only wanted their pay checks. I don't even want to start talking about love here, because I don't know where to start and where to end! I just want to make one comment about love:
Love is not only a feeling, if it was our Lord Jesus Christ wouldn't command us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). Because when was the last time you felt love towards your enemy? So love is also a commitment: while a feeling is something you can't control, a commitment you certainly can. It is after you make the commitment to pray and do good to your enemies that the feeling of love may come.
I remember while I was new in Canada I watched on a Judge Judy show a woman suing her common-law husband who is 25 years old because he does not work or help her around the house because he only plays video games with his friends, while she takes care of their 2 children. I had to laugh when I heard that, as I was new to this concept of a 25 years old man who does nothing with his life but play video games! Then around that time I heard in the morning news that a man was wanted in a drive-by shooting related to gang wars, and they said he was 35 years old! I was very shocked to find out that a 35 years old man is still in a gang and he goes around shooting people! It took me few years to figure out what is going on to a high percentage of people here: people (both males and females, but it seems males have a higher percentage) seem to go through infancy, childhood, adolescence, but have such a hard time passing into adulthood. Let me give you an example:
Boys in Iraq when they grow up they are constantly reminded that one day they are going to be men. For example, when my brother-in-law (who is from Egypt) goes to do a business deal he takes my 6 years old nephew with him because he wants his son to see that life is not all playing and that it requires seriousness and responsibility. And we are also told to keep our word—that is if we say something we stick by it. Because Iraq is a cultural society a man's worth is valued by how he values his own words. Let's say a man promises his neighbour to help him fix his car in the evening. If evening comes and the man doesn't show up then he cannot be trusted, if he cannot be trusted then he is not dependable, which mean his services will not be required, and if you are not needed in the society then you are not important. This idea here is almost non-existing. At university for example students are constantly being formed into groups of about 5 people and have to work as a group to get a project done. It is almost always that one group member or more either doesn't show up to a meeting, or is late, or has not done his or her part. Many have no feelings of responsibility or commitment. Yet, those same students are expected to graduate in a year or so and become leaders of families and our society!
The problem lies in that most people live here by preference rather than convictions. Their thoughts pattern usually goes like this: I feel like it therefore I will do it, or I don't feel like it therefore I won't do it. People live by preferences when they are selfish and self centred. But living by convictions and commitments requires selflessness and sacrifice. And as Christians it is essential that we keep our words and promises. Because if we desire to be like our Lord then we have to be trustworthy, faithful, selfless, and committed like Him. It is essential that we live by convictions.
Imagine marriage run by feelings alone? Who feels like taking the garbage out? Who feels like changing diapers? Who feels like waking up 3 times a night to a crying child? Who feels like paying the mortgage? Who feels in love the same with their spouse after 30 years?
Another problem people face here is that at such a young age they engage in sexual immorality, and associate love with it, and experience rejection. If a person has had multiple sex partners by the time they are 20 years old, what value does marriage, love, or commitment have to them anymore? That's why it is so important that Christians raise their children on Biblical principles and enforce those principles.
I am not saying that in Iraq people don't break their promises, and people in Canada are not trustworthy, all I am saying is that the percentage of people who are untrustworthy, take love easily, and don't value commitment is much higher here. And I am not saying that if you promise something you have to always keep it. If you promise in your anger to commit a sin then don't do it. Or if you promise doesn't fit God's will then don't do it. And I am also not saying you should become like a machine living without feelings but by commands alone. The goal here is not to be become a perfectionist or ignore your humanity; the goal here is to be trustworthy, dependable, and not disappoint God and people as long as it depends on you. The idea here is to be a adult (responsible) man or woman.
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Few months ago I read in the February 2009 InTouch magazine a story of a Christian man's divorce that really touched me. I cried when I read it because the emotions he expressed were so true of a rejected, fooled, deceived, mistreated, and disesteemed person. The story reminded me of a movie that was based on a true story of a man committing adultery with his secretary, and then divorcing his completely unsuspecting wife to marry his mistress. The sad part of the story is that he only felt guilty for a while, while she had to live with the feelings of being rejected, unloved, unimportant, deceived, and had to deal with disappointment, shame and labels (because of society), and having no support in raising their sons for many years. On top of that, when holidays came her sons went to spend time with their dad while she stayed home alone. It is amazing how the actions of one person can harm another so greatly. Sometimes we think that the person who does the wrongdoings reaps the consequences for his or her actions immediately, but often times this is not the case and that the victim suffers for much longer. At least that's sometimes true here on earth, but in heaven everything is fair and no time is longer than an eternity in hell.
Sometimes people say that it takes two people to ruin a marriage. I don't believe in that: I think it needs only one person to ruin a marriage (of course, it can also take two people). You only need one hand to be missing for you not to be able to clap. Few years ago at work a woman discovered her husband was committing adultery with a co-worker who was 20 years his junior. The wife was very crushed. Then a co-worker told me that her sons say that she doesn't even cook at home. I answered her, "That's non-sense, if he was that hungry he should cook himself, order food, or take them out for dinner. How is food connected to adultery?" It seems that we humans love to blame the victim for the crime, but this doesn't please God.
I also know a very godly Iraqi man who loved a girl with all of his heart for 3 years. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her as long as it made her happy and it wasn't a sin. Then one day she told him that she couldn't marry him because he was a construction worker, and even though he made good money he was worth nothing because he doesn't have a degree. He was shocked when he heard her say that to him, because he wanted to marry her! After all those years, money spent and efforts from his part, and all that love, that's what she thought of him? Few months later he heard that she got married to a doctor. Six months later she sent him an e-mail apologizing, asking his forgiveness saying that she still loves him. He wrote her back with the supervision of his pastor and addressing her as "sister" saying that what happened has happened, and he prays for her and her husband, wishes them the best, and that he doesn't want her to contact him anymore because she is a married woman now. Since then I wondered: Why make a mess of your life? Why not value someone who you know in your heart that this person genuinely loves you? And we all know how difficult it is to find someone who loves you unconditionally and is committed to you. Why marry someone for the wrong reasons and regret it later? I want to say this to the ladies reading this:
There is nothing more attractive in a woman than knowing she is wise, and have a strong character. (That's why so many men find girls who wear glasses attractive!) It is a beautiful thing in a woman to have an independent character. And by independent I don't mean rebellious or that she doesn't respect other people's thoughts, but I mean to be dependent on God's Word and to know who she is in Him and what His will is and to live a godly life—that she is not easily persuaded to do things. I am saying this because in the Middle Eastern culture and even among many Christians, women seem to be so easily influenced by whatever a man says. When I get married, if it is God's will, I want my wife to have her own character, her own thoughts and to ask, "Is what my husband saying correct? Is it supported Biblically?" And if it is not then I would love for her to correct me. Just as I am supposed to be the man of the house, she is supposed to be my helper, and how can she helps me when she just duplicates my thoughts, and doesn't question my decisions?! Interestingly, the most independent in her thinking godly woman I know is also the best wife I know. The Bible says in Proverbs 31:
"{10} A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
{11} Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value."
[How can a husband have full confidence in his wife if he knows she is easily influenced?]
"{13} She selects…. {14} She bringing…. {15} She gets up…she provides…. {16} She considers… she plants…. {17} She sets about her work…. {18} She sees that her trading is profitable…. {19} She holds…. {20} She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy…. {21} She has no fear…. {22} She makes…. {25} She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. {26} She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue."
[This is a woman has an independent mind and a strong character, works hard, and make profitable deals, she is confident and makes wise decisions, and her husband has confidence in her and is respected—that's a godly woman.]
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So for few months now I have decided to take a photo to illustrate the pain a man or a woman go through when the wife or the husband commit adultery. And yesterday at university with the help of few classmates I was able to take that photo. The photo is dedicated to William Ryder (whose story is posted below), and all wronged persons out there whose only crime is that they loved so purely that they didn't see evil coming.
I hope you like the photo and the writing :)
PS: The one thing I don't understand about adultery is how come it is not against the law! I mean, marriage is a contract and both parties agree on its terms and sign it, right? Then how come the breach of this contract is not against the law? I mean, if you do it in business you get sued and have to pay for it. So why is destroying a family, and the lives of the wife or husband, and the children is not punishable by law?
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This (unexpected) Life
Surviving the pain of labels and “good intentions”
by William Ryder
I will always remember that night with crystal clarity. We had just moved to a new city eleven days earlier to enable Amy, my wife of three years, to begin a Master’s program. Having graduated from seminary ten weeks prior, I was working a retail job while I searched for a church ministry position. Weary from a ten-hour workday framed by a one-hour commute, I slowly climbed the steps to our new apartment.
Inside, I sank gleefully into my favorite chair and turned my attention to Amy, who was sitting at the edge of the couch beside me. She nervously cleared her throat and said, “We need to talk.” I was not prepared for what came next. In what seemed like a single breath she said, “Well, I have not been very happy lately. I have been racking my brain trying to figure out why, and I think I’ve finally realized the truth. I don’t love you. I don’t have the feelings for you that I think a wife should have for her husband. I think marrying you was a mistake, and I don’t want to be married anymore.”
Wow. There was simply no response in my mind to what she had said. I was numb. I stood up and paced the floor as I desperately strove to work through this information. I understand that in most divorces, both parties usually see it coming; however, there is occasionally that hapless idiot who’s caught completely off guard. That was me, catching butterflies in left field while my wife decided she no longer loved me.
Almost immediately, Amy moved out of our apartment to stay with a friend. She would speak to me only through e-mails and, soon after, her attorney. I stayed there alone for several weeks, pleading with her to change her mind. However, two months after the initial bombshell, Amy had divorce papers drawn up, and I realized that our marriage was truly over. Knowing her decision was final, and because I had no job or friends in the new city, I agreed to leave town.
I remember walking through the apartment, trying to separate “my” things from “her” things. It was impossible—like reaching inside of a baked cake, trying to pull out the individual ingredients. No longer was there a unity of belongings, but rather a collection of two people’s possessions thrown together. Looking over all our stuff, I was no longer able to see any gray; everything was either black or white, hers or mine, staying or going.
As I made the last inspection after packing all of my things into a U-Haul, my attention paused at a framed wedding picture on the kitchen table. For a moment, I stopped breathing. Picking it up, I looked into the eyes of that beautiful bride, and I trembled. Returning the photograph to the table, I became painfully aware of the now-defunct piece of gold on my left hand. I slowly pulled the wedding band off my finger, gently kissed it, and sat it on the table beside the portrait. Then I turned, walked outside, and locked the door behind me. At that moment, in every way, I was a man with no home.
Weeks later, I suffered the tremendous indignity of piecing together the abhorrent truth behind Amy’s departure. Her “rational, adult decision” to leave our marriage was a sham; she’d actually been embroiled in an affair with another man for almost a year—one third of our marriage. This was the “friend” with whom she was staying while I pled for her to return. With this insight, my last hopes were destroyed, and I signed the divorce papers . . . two days before Thanksgiving.
This is my story. Tragic? Absolutely. Pitiful? Without a doubt. The real question, though, is, Why should you care about all of this? Why did I have to invite you into the darkest part of my private nightmares? The answer, sadly, is that if you do not have such a painful story yourself, you can be certain that you know someone who does. Roughly half of all marriages in America end in divorce; for born-again Christians, the percentage is, surprisingly, higher. Despite all of these “newly single” people populating American churches, the church in general has no idea how to react, relate, or respond to the needs of this heartbroken crowd.
I believe the first obstacle that must be conquered is a matter of identity. Let me explain: In the past few years, I have become painfully aware of how, when, and where the word “divorce” is used. It often appears in a checklist under the heading “Marital Status,” which gives people four options: single, married, widowed, or divorced. I’ve seen this in the most unexpected places, from a church visitor information card to an application for health insurance.
The issue is that people have grown accustomed to categorizing others according to certain “pegs” in their social life. The problem with this, however, is that there is no such thing as a “divorced person.” Divorce is an event, not a condition. My divorce was something that happened to me, a tragedy in my past. However, that misfortune should not characterize my whole life from now on.
The church can go a long way toward ministering to the expansive population of “new singles” by simply striking the word “divorced” from its vocabulary. Using the term as an adjective simply identifies an individual by a horrible event in his life. In this, saying, “Will is a divorced person” is tantamount to saying, “Frank is a pancreatic cancer person.” No one would be insensitive enough to say the latter, so why should it be acceptable to commonly say the former?
The most shocking and hurtful appearance of the “divorce check-box” that I have seen was actually church-related. I had taken myself out of the ministry search for almost a year while I worked through my divorce. Then, as I began to test the waters, I wrote to local denominational associations, asking for help in finding possible positions in their areas. One group mailed back a Personal Inventory Checklist to be stapled to my résumé. The checklist contained a brief list of yes/no questions that inquired about any involvement in child abuse, spousal abuse, and other indiscretions. There, wedged neatly between “Obscene/Harassment Phone Calls” and “Do you use illegal drugs?” was the question, “Have you been divorced?” It was then I realized that, in many people’s opinions, my new peer group consisted of wife beaters and child molesters. I completed the form, but obviously never heard from any church in that area.
Another problem is the “civilian’s” inability to understand what divorce does to a person. Unfortunately, many well-meaning people attempt to help their hurting friends by uttering the five most potentially destructive words imaginable: “Get on with your life.” This encouragement is built on the premise that their friend’s life is still there, but he has just removed himself from it. This is a mistake. Even though he may still be breathing, your friend’s life, for all intents and purposes, was terminated by his divorce.
Let me demonstrate this point from my own experience. For eight long, continuous years I worked hard in school, held a full-time job, took on various church leadership roles, got married, and began making long-term career and family plans. However, my wife’s actions effectively ended that life. In a real sense, my divorce murdered the man and the minister that I was becoming. I will simply never be that man again.
The miracle is that God has raised a new life from the ashes. I now have a new career and ministry that I adore. I honestly cannot imagine being happier doing anything else. Does this mean that my current life will always be second-string to what “might have been”? I don’t think so; however, I do know that this life came about only through time, patience, and the determined work of God. Do not be quick to urge the newly single person to “get on with his life”; he may actually be stuck between the old life and the new. Only the Holy Spirit and a hearty amount of patience will truly enable him to get on with his new life.
When my ordeal first began in August of 2000, I met with a trusted mentor—a minister who had been through a similar situation. He said something to me that I’ll never forget: “William, nothing I say can make this less painful. But I do know that if you get through a major crisis like divorce with your faith intact, you will understand some things about God that a lot of people never realize.” Now, looking back, I see that he was right. I have never been more aware of the enduring presence of the Holy Spirit than I have these past few years. I have never before known the complete joy and release of casting everything at the foot of the cross and coming to God with a broken heart and empty hands. Mostly, though, I never expected to actually like my new life, but God was more gracious than I ever imagined.
If you are standing where I have been, or if you love someone who is going through the whirlwind of divorce, do no expect any trite words of comfort and solace here. However, if you are a hurting individual who is crying out to God for the strength to endure, be encouraged by His response through the apostle Peter: “[Cast] all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you . . . And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you” (1 Peter 5:7, 10). Even if the present seems insurmountable, you can trust that the future is wide open for your success, love, and happiness. How do I know? Because God said so, and because He has done it for me.
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Source: InTouch Magazine, February 2009
(Toronto, ON; fall 2009.)
A HEARTBROKEN lighthouse keeper’s ghost has taken up residence at a famous North Wales landmark.
The silvery, 7ft figure has made his haunting of Talacre Lighthouse permanent, some 50ft above the popular North Wales beach, following countless sightings by local residents and visitors. But The Keeper is a sculpture made of highly polished stainless steel, being the culmination of a project between the lighthouse owner and Flintshire coastal rangers.
For years there have been reports of an apparition, that of a lighthouse keeper, seen patrolling the balcony or inside the lantern room at Talacre Lighthouse. Many of the sightings have been in broad daylight.
Inspired by the resident ghost, lighthouse owner James McAllister and Flintshire County Council’s coastal unit wanted to bring him to life and commissioned a local artist to create a sculpture.
James said: “As owner of Talacre Beach Caravan Park I often hear stories from residents and guests that they’ve seen something on the lighthouse, or their dogs have reacted strangely around it, as if they sense something.
“We had a medium investigate and she made the connection to a keeper called Raymond, who may have died of a fever and a broken heart. It seems like he was a rather lonely figure, so I’m hoping that his new guest will be company for him and will go some way to soothing his anguish.”
The sculpture idea quickly developed into a serious art project and required listed building planning consent to be installed. It has taken two years to complete.
Angela Smith’s design is inspired by the coastline’s marine life.
Constructed by a local blacksmith, The Keeper is made from hundreds of highly polished, medical-grade stainless steel sea creature shapes, making him rust-resistant.
He reflects natural light and gaps between the shapes allow wind to blow through, potentially allowing him to make a suitably ghostly moaning noise.
Mike Taylor, senior ranger for Flintshire County Council Countryside Services, is delighted the project has come to fruition and hopes the sculpture will become an attraction in its own right.
He said: “We believe The Keeper is a fitting tribute to this coast’s maritime heritage and marine wildlife, and of course to the ghost of Talacre Lighthouse.
Our sweet Brady passed away in late January due to suspected hermangiosarcoma. We are heartbroken but so very thankful for the 13 years we spent with him. Last September we fulfilled our dream of moving to Maine. When we daydreamed about the move, we never thought Brady would still be with us, but thanks to COVID we were able to move much sooner than we’d planned. Brady rode across the country with us, stayed in 5 different hotels, ate lots of hamburgers, and then settled in to his new home, where he had 3 beds and access to a nearby beach. He loved having us home all day and he had us well-trained in pats and treat dispensing. He was the perfect pandemic companion and we miss him greatly. I wish he could have stayed with us longer but it just wasn’t meant to be. Thank you to everyone who has followed Brady here. We will have another dog eventually and I plan to be back here. In the meantime, I may post a few more pix from his adventures here.