Pulling Back The Curtain

I have thought long and hard about sharing my personal life with you. I was concerned you may think it is too much and I was over-reaching, but then I thought, “As an artist, maybe it is best that I share this story with you”

I won’t lie when I say the last few months have been anything but easy for me. As I am sure you are aware my home of Western North Carolina was devastated by Hurricane Helene. Not only did Helene rob me of friends, she destroyed some of my favorite towns and washed away many of my most cherished places in the forest where I found peace.

In addition, I have been battling a health issue, which is not fatal so no need to worry, but it weighs on me. Please feel free to say a few prayers but after this, I won’t be discussing it any further.

Finally, I have been working hard to bring on new clients to my Professional Photography Firm to make sure my employees, whom I consider family, still have paychecks as our client base recovers from the harsh effects of Helene.

I’m not telling you all of this so you can feel bad for me by the way.

All of this negativity has been weighing on my mind and has certainly left me sad, angry, and frustrated. But the silver lining in all of it is I have gotten closer to God again, relying on Him to carry me through my tears, anger, and fear.

So I don’t know what you may be going through right now, but I wanted to encourage you to pray in whatever belief you practice. For me, it is God and Jesus and I talk to them several times a day, and once again, without fail, they have delivered me, my family, and my employees from these circumstances in so many ways. I certainly didn’t deserve these blessings as I have been bitter, angry, and fearful... the opposite of faithful and thankful.

I don’t know if you needed to hear this, but coming from an old sinner who still makes huge mistakes, God loves you and wants to bless your life. All you need to do is ask.

God Bless,

Roger W. Downes