Sharing my story with you:
Chapter 1: In the Beginning
.. even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world … Ephesians 1:4
The hand of God has been evident in my life. Most of us don’t acknowledge it and many times we probably don’t see it. I am sure there have been times that things didn’t happen in my life that I was totally unaware of because God intervened. Conditions were not ideal, but even before my birth, I see the Hand of God.
Every day I see a TV commercial where a mother advises us to speak into the hole of the incubator so her premature baby can hear her voice better — another admonition for us not to smoke. Flashback to the 50s: Mom became pregnant at 15, a teen mom who smoked during her pregnancy. Mom had been smoking since the age of 11, when she won a radio contest and a complete bedroom set. Along with that bedroom set came a treasure chest full of Old Gold cigarettes from the contest’s sponsor. Despite this, I was neither premature, underweight, nor sickly — the first miracle. I was a healthy 7 pounds 14 ounces and the spitting image of my mother. In fact, the only way you could tell us apart in our baby pictures was by the shoes we were wearing. I started with a “traditional” family — mother and father — although my mother was only 16 when she married. It was not a marriage made in heaven; my Mom made a conscious decision to get pregnant to escape living with her new stepfather. She had warned my grandmother not to marry him, which she obviously ignored. As my Mom related it to me, just prior to the wedding, my grandmother broke out in a cold sweat. After he said “I do”, Mom says the expression on his face totally changed. Willfully becoming pregnant at 15 was obviously the rationalizations of a young mind, not fully matured. Yet, all steps are ordered by God to those who are obedient to His will. It was His first step toward creating my life in Him. Still, my mother had an uncanny ability to be able to read people and the strength of sheer will to survive. And, maybe not in the way that was scripturally or spiritually correct, to make sure I survived also.
The next instance of my covering came when I was still a baby. In the early days, people could go on their rooftops to escape the heated indoors of their apartments. It was almost like a day at the beach where you pulled out your lawn chairs, unpacked your drinks and sandwiches, and wallowed in the cool evening breeze. The front of the building had a parapet about a foot high, but the back was completely open. One day, I started walking, almost running, toward the back of the building. I don’t know how I was rescued, and Mom is no longer with me to relay the details but suffice it to say God preserved my life for the first time of many more to come. Another little baby girl was not so fortunate years later, as I learned when I returned home one afternoon from my summer work at the Prudential.
Everyone has a story. Some are more dramatic and heartbreaking than others. Others may seem more like fairy tales. But there is a place in everyone’s story, whether written or not, that resonates with someone else and offers support, inspiration or hope. I am praying that there is something within these pages and the books that will follow that will resonate within you, my reader. Clink the link below to find it.
Immense gratitude to those who have already purchased my book. If it touched your heart, share with a friend.
Book 2 expected by Christmas. Watch your email for Pre-order info.
Random Thoughts 