My dear friend, Dayna Paine, shared a wonderful story with me a couple of years ago about a simple little gold band called the "Be Strong" ring. I will retell this story as best I can and then share with you how Jane Barker unknowingly blessed me with the start of See Pink's own "Be Strong" ring!
Dayna's story:
Dayna graduated from Clemson and is not only a great friend, but she is also a rabid Clemson fan! This really has nothing to do with the story, but with football season about to start I would be remiss if I didn't mention it!
Dayna has a dear friend in Clemson, Esther, who owns Nick's. It is a Clemson institution and holds many memories for many alumni! If memory serves me correctly (which it doesn't always do!), then someone at Nick's found a simple gold wedding band while sweeping. The ring was held onto for quite sometime, but it was never claimed by anyone. Esther began wearing it as a thumb ring, I think. Anyway, she left it a friend's house and this friend began wearing it so that she could feel Esther's closeness while she was going through a difficult time. (Esther is one of these wonderful women that loves her friends with her whole being, so they naturally pull strength from her whether she is physically there or not.) Well, story has it that once her friend made it through her difficult time, she returned the ring to Esther and told her how she derived strength from it. Thus, the "Be Strong" ring was born!
The "Be Strong" ring was bestowed upon Dayna while she was dealing with a long deployment separation from Jeff, who later became her husband. Once Jeff returned, and Dayna felt stronger, she returned the ring to Esther. Two years ago I met Esther and learned of the "Be Strong" ring. Dayna and I were in Clemson for a football game (yes, I'm ashamed to say that I actually wore an orange shirt with a tiger paw on it!!)...I digress...we were charged with bringing the "Be Strong" ring back to Tennessee to Mandy who was pregnant with her first child and whose husband was scheduled to deploy before the baby was to be born. Dayna not only shared the ring with Mandy, but she stood by her side as Mandy's precious Logan was born!
The "Be Strong" ring isn't about a piece of jewelry, it is about the women behind it. The sisters who are there for one another, now and always. It is about finding strength when you think you have none left. Whether you are fighting cancer, struggling with a deployment, or simply going through a transitional time in your life, having friends that you can count on is crucial to victory! A symbol such as the "Be Strong" ring just works as glue to bind friends and strangers together forever!
I hope you have enjoyed this story. I will post the story behind See Pink's "Be Strong" ring later today. Kelly is on her way over for coffee and to discuss See Pink's big Open House in October. Stay tuned for those details!
Have a blessed day.
Lynne
Lynne, did you get the email that I sent to you with a catalog front cover that has nothing but breast cancer stuff in it, i.e., pens, ribbons and all kinds of stuff, reasonable. Thought you might want to get them to send you a copy of the catalog.
ReplyDeleteLove you,
Mom