Wednesday 9 March 2016

Better Than a Fairy Tale? Not Yet

A continuation of my spiritual journey.

Thank you Google Images for the wonderful snapshots.

So what happened next? There were many things of course, but what is really important? Eventually Mom and Dad separated and Dad took some of us younger ones to a runty little shack he built himself and we were supposed to start school in a new, far distant area. I was appointed, or rather accepted the job of head cook and clothes washer. With wood heating, which I wasn’t familiar with and inexperience combined, well, let’s just say it was a new experience for me.

I was introduced to a new ‘religion’ also. I wasn’t used to his new way of worshipping which included speaking in tongues that reached a higher and higher crescendo and numerous people walking in and out of the building during services and it made me fearful.

I did a lot of searching and praying during this time. It is still precious to me how God illuminated the Word for a sincere young teenager. I can still clearly remember how various Scriptures came to life for me and I knew He was giving me direction.

While I was holed up with my younger siblings in that out of the way homemade ‘trailer’ I got really sick with Hepatitis which must have lasted at least three weeks. Not a fun time, too be sure, but there was not only a silver lining in the clouds after this happened, but better than that it was like a rainbow in my memory.

It was the fall of the year so the leaves were turning color. One afternoon while I was still weak, but slowly getting better, I went for a walk in the woods and they were graced with natural autumn beauty. This meandering stroll was a time of communing with God. I felt him so close amidst His creation that later I wrote a rather long essay about it. Had I found ‘heaven’ at last? No, but it was another oasis of peace in a troubled lifestyle. I treasure to this day those little touches from God that kept me going.

Mom had found her way back to ‘her own people’ and their quiet, peaceful, loving ways were a drawing to me. I had a cousin my age who reached out to me but when Dad intercepted one of my responses to her there were dire consequences.

S. Please check out my book. (Link below.) If you want to escape from a troubled past and hope for a better future, this may be the most comforting book you will ever read,

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1511783966
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1511783966
http://www.amazon.de/dp/1511783966
http://www.amazon.es/dp/1511783966
http://www.amazon.fr/dp/1511783966
http://www.amazon.it/dp/1511783966

https://www.createspace.com/4837922

Monday 7 March 2016

Better Than a Fairy Tale

Do you want to hear a story that is so marvelous that you’ll think I made it up? I know for a fact that it is true ‘cuz it happened to me over forty years ago and the results ripple right down to the present.

Okay, where shall I start? Guess what, I have something in common with a lot of you. I come from a broken home. I know the anguish of seeing a marriage torn apart right in front of my eyes and feeling the effects in my own soul because it was my Mom and Dad.

Ours was one of those old-fashioned homes where you didn’t tell others what was going on behind closed doors: gotta put on a good front, y’know. So what was the result? Pain and heartache and groping in despair.

But I did reach out: I was not as reserved as some of my siblings so talked to our pastor, or at least tried too. He listened impassively, or so it seemed. I got more desperate: our home was falling apart right in front of my eyes, Mom and Dad didn’t love one another anymore, and I and my hapless brothers and sisters were caught in the vortex.

So I did what only a writer would do, I put my heartache in words, in poem form actually, and gave it to him when I had the opportunity. What did he do? He gave it back and said: “that’s very nice.” Did it help? Nope. (Wish I still had that poem.)

I see that this is going to end up being a whole lot longer than I had expected, but I promise you it does have a happy ending. What a trite word. Come on give me a better one, joyous, blessed, comforting,-- gratifying? No one word seems to describe what I went, and am going through.

But I know you have places to go, and things to do, so stay tuned until tomorrow, and yes, I’ll keep writing while you face your day.

P.S. Please check out my book. (Link below.) If you want to escape from a troubled past and hope for a better future, this may be the most comforting book you will ever read,

4837922

Heavenly Echoes