*Edited March 2023* -*Re-Edited November 2, 2023*
A letter from my heart,
If you are moving to Knoxville or into a different home in Knoxville, it is with humble joy to share that it was a beautiful place to live for more than eighteen years of my life. My family and I moved there when I was nine years old from Pennsylvania and I spent incredibly happy years as a child and have tender memories of growing up in Knoxville, of dear friends, and what I often refer to as an idyllic childhood. As an adult Knoxville became a refuge in which included some of the most difficult years of fighting for my health and life. And in 2020, in moving back to my childhood home, it was where a tender chapter of extreme grief also was brought to a beautiful full circle as I returned to teaching after being away from it for more than a decade of fighting for my life.
The Bible verse, "the boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places" was and continues to be a beautiful verse for my life.
My prayer for you as you move to Knoxville is that you would find the same beautiful memories, lovely community, and heart-warming haven that my family and I had in our years there.
In saying that, and with that beautiful background, I wrote a personal opinion post in June 2021 and I chose to remove it in March 2023. This is my right on the blog and on my website to do. I chose to remove my original personal opinion(no contract /collaboration- just a simple opinion) review post which I gently shared was done with sadness with no details out of respect and privacy.
I am very sad to share that eight months later, in November 2023, with no prior contact since the editing of that post or warning, I was contacted through instagram, first being told that I didn't need to respond by law to the contact and that they wanted me to address a comment, but also threatened that my statement was a liable lawsuit and defamation of character. Mind you this was sent during my work hours-in the middle of the business day and for the rest of the evening I had personal commitments and didn't respond. Before I could prayerfully consider how to respond, I received another message less than 24 hours later (again during the work day) that said they were "not making a threat" but I was being given less than 48 hours, and informed that they would need to take legal action if I didn't respond or remove the personal opinion post/edit from March 2023 (in other words a threat).
It was shocking, because this was simply a personal opinion from the beginning and I had never heard anything before this or even from the original post in 2021. For the record friends- legally, you and I are allowed to have opinions. We might not all agree but we can have respectful differing opinions which mine was (keeping details private). It was disappointing as I had known the individual for nearly 30 years and I can't fathom the choice of handling something this way and yet, it is okay. Because, despite this, despite the way that this was handled on so many levels, my faith is the most important thing to me and I have chosen to simply move forward in grace. To be clear, this was not because of the threat or that I had done anything wrong (legally or personally), which legally I hadn't, but a decision solely made because of my personal faith and the choice to live fully in that humble gift of choosing life.
When you are given the gift of life after fighting for it- you learn what is most important in life- not handling things through a social media message where you are threatening someone for a personal opinion. Instead, you understand the brevity and the beauty of each day and the privilege in choosing life.
For the record, in more than a decade of owning Caravan Sonnet I have had the privilege of working with some of the largest brands and companies in the world and I can say I have never received messages like I received on November 1st and November 2nd. It was sad and disappointing, but despite this and while I have never had this happen here on the blog, I stand by my constant refrain that I live by in accordance and devotion to my faith and with my life's creed and writing of more than 10 years here on the blog: I harbor nothing but best wishes and blessings for everyone. I have already forgiven and moved on. This world is so harsh already and our beautiful lives are to short and precious friends to live in anything but living out faith, forgiveness, grace, and love.
May God bless the beautiful city of Knoxville, all who work in the city, and all who have been a part of our incredibly blessed years in this area. Our hearts will always hold a special place for all who live in that beautiful area of the country and we can't wait to see you again soon!
Warmly, Rebecca
PS- If you are reading this and have experienced a situation where you are struggling with forgiveness I can't recommend enough the book, "Total Forgiveness". It is a book that I read when I was first in my twenties and then have read and referred to again and again in so many different situations. It is a beautiful book and so encouraging and so important. Move forward with freedom friend and leave things in God's hands- truly... Choose Life friends...it is a beautiful gift that is meant to be lived in freedom.
If you are wanting to follow along on all of the moving updates on some specific highlights or questions I have answered through instagram you can do so HERE (Part 1) and HERE (Part 2). If you are interested in reading more of the updates you can click on the links below:
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