by John Leavitt

A little while back I was asked by Christi, the Forum’s editor, if I might be interested in submitting some of my photos with uplifting messages to the Forks Forum from time to time. I did not have to think about it long and I said yes.

I already had been thinking along those lines anyway as I share them on Facebook. You see, I always have loved this community and the people in it. I have loved nature and the beauty it has to offer. Life has taught me how to love unconditionally, though I’ve not perfected it yet!

After sitting down with Christi, it was nice to see and hear her heart and her thoughts were very similar to mine. We both love our community and the people in it. We both want to see Forks rid of the negative things in it and see more of the positive things for it focused on, while not ignoring the negative things, totally.

We both thought you the reader should know who I am in my first article, so here we go.

Many of you know of me but don’t know all about me. My parents are Jeanne and Kerry Leavitt of Bear Creek. My sisters are Cheryl, Lori, Dora and Vicky and all four live here in Forks.

I grew up in the Forks area and graduated from Forks High in 1981. I was married over 30 years ago to a beautiful young lady and we had a son named Justin, who recently turned 32. His mother and I unfortunately divorced and I remarried another beautiful lady and we divorced.

I then remarried, yes another beautiful lady and life took me away from Forks to Tumwater and then we moved to Lebanon, Tenn. After my third unsuccessful marriage, my faith led me home. I did not want to leave my job and beautiful friends in Tennessee or my son who was just a few hours away in Kentucky.

However, I knew I was being called back to Washington for sure and maybe my hometown of Forks, to make a difference and help set the world on fire, not knowing how.

So I left my son’s house with tears in my eyes, but a hope in my heart, that in doing so all of my family would receive blessings that I could not imagine. As I drove, I wondered where in Washington I would live — well I ended up back in Forks.

In a little over a week of coming back to Forks my nephew was re-diagnosed with brain cancer, I learned my dad’s health was worse than I thought and a good friend’s health had gotten worse as well. I thought, “Lord, this is not what I had in mind, but I will continue to put my trust in you.”

Almost two years have passed and I sit at a desk typing this up, knowing that tears from pain and heartache have turned in to tears of joy and a life of meaning and purpose, as I’m trying to explain who John Leavitt is.

So let’s just go with this thought in mind for now: I am a blessed and humbled man with a deep love for my God, people, nature and photography and all of them have collided into an explosion of goodness that I’d like to share.

I recently left my job to do my photography ministry full time. You can find my business on Facebook under “What I See Photography & Ministry.” My photos are for sale only by contacting me at this time; I hope to offer them over the Internet and various locations in town soon.

I also would like to let you know that with every photo sold I put away money to help fight various causes. I ask for your support as I try to do what I’ve been called to do at this time and that’s to help make the world a better place to live, one photo at a time. By the way, you still don’t know everything about me, but you will know more in time, Love John