Monthly Archives: August 2012

The granite solitude upon which I rested afforded me a panoramic view of the blue expanse of fading mountain tops in the distance. There, up where the raptors soared, there where nothing made of man could stand obscuring the bliss, where the air was crystalline under the azure blue sky, thoughts of God’s beauty couldn’t be resisted. As the gleeful chatter of youth in exploration of all they could touch and feel with pristine senses, I sat in repose, soaking it in like the morning sunshine on a dew soaked leaf.

A slight breeze wafted across the skin, fresh with perspiration from the challenging climb to reach its summit. Here we sat, now resting before moving on, as in life, pausing a brief moment to reflect and appreciate all that we have been so blessed to receive.

The rugged slopes falling off into nothingness, surrounding us, in a world full of hate and bitterness, fall off into somber greenery of the forests that abound. Cascading waterfalls fall along dark glistening surfaces as they dance in our ears, reminding us of the joyful sounds of life, bubbling forth enriching ions of energy through our beings.

Heavenly splendor, if only we can see…

A journey to the mountain top…ever so brief… a granite solitude.

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The Crenshaw House: An oasis of nurturing comfort within a whirlwind of vibrant youthful energy and learning.

This weekend began with me having no earthly idea of how things would go or turn out with regard to the journey I’ve begun. I would have to say that there was some trepidation just prior to Friday night’s book reading since there could have been any number of subject matter experts in attendance. Yet, just the weekend before there was the same potential, but more from an aspect of the ancestral side. So, just before I started reading I said a silent prayer and vowed to just be myself, keeping the Word in focus and not give in to temptations to waiver from the truth.

I found an audience who was very accepting and full of great questions, much like Thursday night’s reading at the Goldston Library, but with a bit more diverse thought boundaries. It was refreshing and enlightening to hear these young people embrace my book’s subject matter, all of whom had no idea what it was prior to my reading.

Here in the cradle of education at the University of Auburn, I could hear and remember the youthful vigor and spirit that is so electric when arriving on campus to begin the groundwork for a life’s education. As I sat in the coffee shop listening to the humm of conversations all about me, I could hear that discussion weaving threads of life into the tapestry that would someday be memories of that college life they once knew. I had to ask myself, would my book reading in some small way become one of those threads, a moment in time when we sat down and heard this old guy talk about an ancient people we had never heard of? For a few curious listeners, this moment came true.

A few hours later, while recalling the previous scene to a very receptive audience at our weekend’s residence, The Crenshaw House, it became quickly apparent that youth was not the sole possessor of vibrant curiosity. A very welcoming crowd began to gather and I spoke to an unexpected group who had heralded from all regions of the country. Again, wonderful questions and ideas were initiated and once again I was enjoyably enlightened to the variables and unexpected viewpoints that arose.

Once again, I was refreshed to find that once the cover of the subject matter was unwrapped, there were very few that were unwilling to seek further. Once again I have to remind myself that although in my mind, things might be moving slowly, that this is God’s work and it will all come about in God’s speed. Here in the garden of solitude that this wonderful bed and breakfast affords, it is no wonder so many renowned scholars have called it a home away from home. It is definitely someplace that affords the visitor the sense of tranquility where time can be slowed and reflective countenance can be renewed.

Tomorrow begins another day, where the journey leads I cannot anticipate, but I welcome with renewed spirit and youthful vigor what might lie over the next horizon….let the journey continue.

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I received word yesterday morning early on that my Aunt June had passed.

I don’t know her exact time of passing, but something inside of me tells me it was possbily Friday sometime before I gave my first public reading/signing. Although I knew Aunt June had alzheimers, I still hoped in some small way that someone in the family would still be able to read some or all of my book to her. Afterall, she was the one who made it possible with her initial genealogy research, without which I would have never known of our Waldensian heritage. It was possible, although I was unaware of the severity of her condition, that she might remember either her research or even me.

As I witnessed to comforting new aquaintensces yesterday at the Waldensian Festival Meal, one of them made it clear to me that although she had passed and that due to her condition, she now knew. Yes, she now was able to read, know and feel all that I was experiencing, for now she was home with all those foregone ancestors, family and those of us still here. It was there, during the my first ever authentic Waldensian meal, in the Waldensian Presbyterian church in Valdese that I realized so much had come full circle.

Yesterday was a day of fullfillment and new discovery.I constantly kept reminding myself of why I was there and focusing on keeping it all in perspective. The more I talked to ancesterally connected people the more it became clear that our story, the struggles of those so long ago should be at least an inspiration for us today. Then there were people that showed up at the festival just to purchase the book after having read about it in the local papers. These were people, some knowledgeable and some not, of the legacy of the Waldensians. Some were hearing the story for the first time and to them, I tried to emphasize the spiritual journey they were about to take once they began reading the story, for it is one that traverses both sides of the struggle, which are both equally important. For some, it would be a difficult one…

Then there were the discoveries, the ones that give you chill bumps. More than once I found out characteristics, traits or events that I had not known about, yet I had written them into my book as part of my story. Characteristics, traits and events that were true…..some of which were yet to be fully realized. To understand why and how this happend one would only have to accept it as God’s will.

Today I will return to attend the Sunday morning service and to reconnect with some of the persons that I was only briefly able to meet yesterady.One of whom was very significant, the wife of the late Gus Tron. Gus had been very influenctial and inspiring to me early on and like Aunt June, without whom, the book might not have ever been started. It was my first time meeting her and like so many things yesterday, was heartwarming in and of itself. She was as sweet as could be and obviously one of the reasons Gus was so instrumental in being a vibrant part of the community here in Valdese.

Yes, so much to still understand and so much more to tell.

It says in the Bible that to much whom is given much will be asked.

So it has come to pass…

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Much to my humble astonishment, I have been receiving amazing response and feedback at my initial reading/signing here in Valdese NC. It appears my attempt to capture a small fraction of the spiritual nature of the Waldensian’s centuries-long struggle to preserve the Word of God has come to fruition. I can’t begin to explain to you the uplifting feeling of doing God’s work.

Much has been written and documented on these ancient Christians, but so much so that it often becomes a daunting wall of dates and statistics which eventually, but not intentionally, deflate the spiritual nature of their struggles and why they really did what they did. To come full circle in a sense, to start the journey in a place that has only a connection to the actual place, a virtual starting point if you will, is powerful. I don’t want to sound boastful, for I humbly and often try to keep focused on why I’m here, so much so that today’s daily scripture from my fellow Christian Willar Neal has again put me on the path we should all try to follow. For if we only partially seek the will of God, we find so much is given and so much more will be asked.

We don’t have to be genetic descendents of these ancient martyrs to be uplifted from how they lived and died. We need only take away the realization of how deep was their faith, how utterly grounded in the Holy Spirit they were such that nothing else of terrestial existence mattered.

How much have you sought and what will you do in order to be asked of……

Today bring another adventure in the journey that has begun. Follow your path and seek what you may have yet to find.

-Timothy W. Tron

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Come join me this coming Friday, starting at 6:00 PM, at the Trail of Faith church in Valdese, NC for the first public book reading/signing of my new book “Bruecke to Heaven: Children of the Light”, The reading will precede the second to last performance of the outdoor drama, “From This Day Forward” also held at the trail’s amphitheater starting at 7:30. 

This will in a sense be a coming-full-circle event, since the backdrop of the novel takes place in the year 1170 AD in the Cottien Alps from where the Waldensians originated. The recreated church at the trail is known as the “Temple at Ciabas”.  It was built as an exact replica, complete down to the iron bars and fortress like thick walls. The church was not only the spiritual center of their lives but often became the safe haven when the Waldensian villages came under siege. I am quite honored to be offered by my host, The Trail of Faith and the town of Valdese,  the wonderful venue from which I will perform my first public reading/signing. I couldn’t have imagined from the start that this would be where the journey would begin, but yet, here we are just a few short days from the big event. Our ancestors held precious the Word of God and fought, bled and died to keep it alive, and now centuries later, much like the might have done before starting off on their evangelistic missions, I too will begin my adventure from the same backdrop, albeit in North Carolina.

Although in contrast, I don’t plan to face an adversarial foe once I leave to begin my travels, the feeling of carrying on what was started so long ago beckons. I can only hope and pray the true meaning of the book is felt by its readers and someone along the way is spiritually lifted up enough to seek a stronger belief in God and just maybe….someone will seek to find Jesus in their heart.

This coming Friday will be the start. Whether its a success or just a passing entry in my journal, only time will tell. Regardless of the result, its a calling that has to be done.

Let the journey begin….

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