Heather Gray is taking all her pain, all her lingering grief and, more importantly, all her amazing faith and hope in Jesus Christ, on the road.
On August 8, 2012, the Charleston Southern University alum was told the love of her life was dead. Her husband, David, was killed while serving in Afghanistan. As you can imagine, the news was devastating. It still is.
How do you make good out of something so painful? Heather started journaling on Facebook. Then, she started blogging and launched Finish Strong, a ministry designed to share her testimony. She explained it this way on her blog:
My husband completed his final mission on August 8, 2012 in Kunar province, Afghanistan. Now, I am a girl on a mission. My goal is to share my testimony, our story, and a message of forgiveness and resiliency with as many people as possible. I created Finish Strong Ministries with the intent of providing motivation and resources to a world in need. FSM will serve as a vehicle to offer scholarships to enlisted military members wishing to become officers, support charities all over the globe, and provide inspiration through word and song in the form of devotions, albums, and public speaking engagements. David walked into Heaven wearing boots in the sand. So I will don my high heels and press on as long as I must in order to honor his legacy.
David and Heather are both grauduates of Charleston Southern University. They met here on campus. Just days before David died Heather bought a brick to celebrate their anniversary. She planned on giving him this photo, but the Lord interrupted three days before their 11th wedding anniversary …
Heartbreaking.
In the day’s after David passed away, Charleston Southern University held a short ceremony at opening Chapel service of the Fall 2012 semester. Heather will return to campus to share her story at a special Chapel service on Wednesday, February 20 at 11:00 a.m. in the Lightsey Chapel Auditorium. This event is open to faculty, staff, students, alumni and the general public.
