Her Greatest Cheerleader

These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ sung by Nancy Sinatra ranked number 22 of The Top 40 Songs…color television sets became popular, the Vietnam War was raging, and Pampers made their first disposable diaper. Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” the animated television special adapted from the book is shown for first time on CBS. Lyndon B Johnson was our President…Mini Skirts, Miranda Rights, Batman, Star Trek the Mamas and the Papas, to this day, fifty years later are still popular, recognized and hold significance to many. The Sound Of Music won several Oscars at the Academy Awards, and for the first time, all cigarette packets in the US must carry the health warning “Caution! Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health”…t’was The Year of 1966.

We lived in a small suburban town just north of Dayton, Ohio known as Huber Heights which boasted a 1970 Census of Population of 18,943. We had numerous friends that lined the streets in both directions. School was within walking distance and as I entered the fifth grade I had my first male teacher…Mr Bennett. It was a year of change, a time of growing up, it was a season of new. New town, new home, new school, new neighbors…and on October 22nd…a new baby was born into our family, a new baby named Cheryl Ann. Being the oldest sister, I had the privilege of holding this tiny baby gently in my arms during the wee hours of the night as mom prepared her bottle…and the years began to roll onward. By the time I had become a teenager, the youngest of five siblings was nearing her fourth birthday. Age differences, growing up in the 70’s…the years continued to roll onward and away and as Cheryl Ann continued to brighten our lives, at the young age of eleven…I was getting married.

In the early 80’s, as I was raising three little girls she was attending high school and dreaming of some day attending an Art College. We have connected more recently during our adult years, from Glamping at Camp Kern, hiking and camping together at our local MetroParks, taking a trip to visit spectacular Alaska, taking her on her first backpacking excursion to the Red River Gorge and more recently backpacked the John Muir Trail together.

I adore my younger sister. A sister delightfully full of laughter, who is exceptionally artistic and creative. A devoted wife, loving mother of four and a woman with a compassionate heart for little orphan children. Cheryl Ann is a photographer, soccer referee, yoga enthusiast, dog lover, hiker and a backpacker. She has backpacked Indiana’s Knobstone Trail, the trails of Ohio in Shawnee State Park and the John Muir Trail of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. This year she embarks on another journey, a journey with the promise of adventure and challenge, testing her physical and mental strengths and weaknesses. With the demanding tasks of endurance, her body will grow weary and fatigued as she hikes northbound from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail. For the next several months she will introduce herself as “Tiger Lily”, her trail name. As she climbs the eastern Appalachian Mountain chain towards the state of Maine, she will shed fears, at times she will cry from sheer exhaustion, she will meditate and seek God, and her mind will be renewed. She will transform and change and will summit Mt Katahdin…a different woman. A woman who is stronger and more confident with herself and with life. A woman who will shout from the mountain tops with praise and thanksgiving. She will be rewarded with mountain vistas, the newness of spring, and the delight of being alive breathing in the breath of God himself. Of all of the rewards that she will receive…the greatest will be the reward of transformation…

Ezekiel 36:26 “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you…”

Tiger Lily hikes the Appalachian Trail 2019 with purpose…to raise an awareness and is partnering with UNAFAA International (Unafaa is a Swahili word meaning “You Matter”), to help raise support for orphans and children in Kenya who are in need.

https://www.unafaa.org

Tiger Lily is seeking to raise funds for these orphans in need. She has a Blog, an Instagram account and a Facebook page in which you can follow her as she hikes northbound to Maine.

http://picdeer.com/hike4thefatherless

Will you join me and other’s as we pray for her safety as she walks 2,192 miles, pray for warmth during the coldest of nights, and a gentle breeze to cool her during the hottest of days…will you join me and other’s with words of encouragement to her as she travels northbound by reaching out to her through her blog, FB or Instagram account…will you also join me and other’s in helping to raise support for these children of Kenya. Will you join me and cheer for her by supporting her efforts…

https://www.facebook.com/hike4thefatherless/?ref=py_c

I am beyond proud of Cheryl Ann…her goals that she has set forth for herself, to plan and prepare for such an endeavor and to become mentally and physically acute for the challenges that lie ahead is quite an undertaking. I am proud to follow her as she treks into the unknown of adventure. I will cheer for her and with her at her successes, encourage her when she feels defeated and pray for her for wisdom, guidance and that the power of the Holy Spirit engulfs her with his comfort, peace and strength…for I am and will be Her Greatest Cheerleader as she hikes the Appalachian Trail…

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Loving Life,

Princess Doah