Grace After the Storm
Page 24
“Aw, just thinking, that’s all. If someone had told me four years ago that I would be here right now, madly in love with a woman who loves the rain, about to be a dad again… I would have said they were crazier than a crawdad in heat.”
“Well, that’s an image now burned into my brain. Thanks for that,” Laci laughed.
“It’s true! I’m the most blessed man on this earth, and it’s all because God had a plan for us. He even had a plan for Brad and Hannah. We both got our second chance at love. That doesn’t happen to just anyone, Lace.”
“Timing is everything.”
Laci’s heart was filled with joy, thinking about everything that had transpired over the last several months. Everything from losing their child and feeling the loss of that life – how it caused her heart to wither and become hard – to finding her way back to the rain, remembering God’s promise of His grace. She was also privileged to be a part of Brad and Hannah’s journey back to one another, and her heart was once again, full of hope.
The winding road that lay ahead of them, albeit lined with joy and love, would also be paved with unexpected challenges; learning how to be parents together, making room in their hearts for a new child… and learning to let go of another.
LETTER FROM THE AUTHOR
Through both my non-profit work in my local community, and seeing the results first-hand from the impact my best friend has made in the lives of not one, but two of her ‘little sisters’; I know that the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization is making a BIG difference in the lives of our young people.
“For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. As the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), ages 6 through 18, in communities across the country. We develop positive relationships that have a direct and lasting effect on the lives of young people. Big Brothers Big Sisters provides children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one mentoring relationships that change their lives for the better, forever. This mission has been the cornerstone of the organization’s 110-year history. With 325 agencies across the country, Big Brothers Big Sisters serves approximately 200,000 children, their families and 200,000 volunteer mentors”.1
To learn more about how to become a Big Brother or Big Sister, contact your local BBBS organization and help a young person today at www.BigBrothersBigSisters.org.
Sometimes all it takes is for someone to care about them, and show them they matter!
About the Author
Sandy recently moved back to her hometown of Mt. Vernon, IL and lives there with her two youngest kids. She currently works in Marketing for a local Children's Home and is busy working on another book.
5 Prince Publishing offers many talented authors.
Please enjoy a sample of
Doug Simpson
Abandoned Soul
Chapter 1
Unusual Dream
Dacque awoke with the standard jolt at the conclusion of his short dream. The clock read 4:45. “Right on schedule, but that one was certainly an unusual dream,” he said out loud to himself as he tapped on the light on the nightstand. Picking up his trusty notepad and pen, he wrote down his most recent message from the Heavenly Powers.
Before you go to bed this evening, make sure you leave one of the back doors of your automobile unlocked. Someone needs your protection.
Chapter 2
Dream Installment
Dacque awoke for the second night in a row with the familiar jolt following another dream. The clock read 4:47. “Pretty darn consistent on the timing, that’s for sure, but I don’t recall ever receiving messages two nights in a row, before. This one certainly makes sense this time around, though.” He tapped on the light and grabbed the pad and pen beside it. Quickly, Dacque began to write the details of this longer message as best as he could recollect it.
There is a teenage girl sleeping in the back seat of your automobile. You must protect her from harm. She will tell you that her name is Mary Smith, but it is not her true name. She will tell you she is eighteen, but she is not. Keep her safe.
Dacque, somewhat grudgingly, dragged his semi-awake torso off of the bed and threw on his clothes. He picked up a flashlight on his way past the kitchen drawer where it resided and headed towards the apartment door.
The night air was crisp but not cold. The evening storm had turned silent, but the lingering clouds concealed the moon and the stars. There was not a sound to be heard in the parking lot behind his apartment complex except for his shoes squeaking on the wet asphalt under his feet. When Dacque reached his vehicle, he circled around the rear to the driver’s side, back door that he had obediently left unlocked the evening before.
The glow from the street light in the parking lot to the left of his car shone through the side window and the figure of a person, curled up in the back seat, was impossible to miss. Dacque could not definitively determine whether it was a female or not from the rear view that was presented to him, but he had no reason to doubt the message that he received only minutes earlier.
Dacque quietly checked the back door. The squatter had not bothered to lock it. He gently opened the door and paused, waiting for a reaction. The dormant figure did not move. Dacque turned on the flashlight but pointed it down by his feet. Reaching inside, he grabbed a hold of the well-worn running shoe on the top foot of the stacked pair and jiggled it back and forth. The squatter rolled over on its back but did not open its eyes. By the shape of her figure, Dacque was now certain that it indeed was the teenage girl spoken of in his dream. He shook the other foot this time. The young lady opened her eyes, sat up suddenly and glared at him for a second or two before swiftly turning towards the exit door behind her.
“Mary Smith! Do not run away. I will not harm you. I am here to help you,” Dacque shouted.
The girl stopped for a second or two and then turned and stared at Dacque inquisitively. “Who are you? How do you know my name? What do you want?”
“My name is Dacque LaRose. You are sleeping in my vehicle, but that is okay because I expected you and left this door open last night so you could get in.”
“Are you crazy, old man?”
“I have no doubt that it sounds pretty crazy to you, but I can prove all of this to you if you will just sit still and listen to me for a minute or two. For some reason, God has chosen me as one of His helpers. I receive messages in my dreams or voices in my ear or head, from one or more of God’s messengers. Twenty-four hours ago I was told in a dream to leave a rear door unlocked in my car last night, as someone needed my protection, so I obediently followed that instruction. Then, just a few minutes ago, while sleeping in my apartment, I received another message in a second dream. It revealed that there was a teenage girl sleeping in the back seat of my car, she uses the name Mary Smith, but it is not her real name. She tells people she is eighteen, but she is not, yet. I was also instructed to keep her safe from harm. Does that sound at all like you?”
The bewildered girl frowned and then slowly shook her head back and forth. “How can you know all that?”
“God knows everything, so His messengers relayed that message to me and somehow managed to arrange for you to find my vehicle with the back door left unlocked specifically for you. I’m sure it all sounds impossible to you, but I have a little more proof.”
“And what is that?”
“When I wake up after a dream message, I immediately write it down on a notepad beside my bed. I can show you my notes, inside.”
“Are you just a dirty old man trying to get me into your bedroom?”
Dacque smiled. “That is a fair question.” He raised the flashlight that had remained pointed at the pavement while they conversed and shone it on the side of his face. “I am old enough to be your grandfath
er, and maybe even your great-grandfather. I have a lady-friend who is old enough to be your grandmother. I certainly do not need to mess around with a young teenager.”
“What are you supposed to be protecting me from?”
“I have not yet been given a reason. My past experience with God’s messages has taught me that they contain only the required information for the present, and then future installments follow as needed. Can you think of any imminent danger that you might be in?”
“No, not really, but I am aware that a young woman living on the streets assumes risks that the older street people do not have to contend with.”
“I am sure that is true. So, are you going to give me an opportunity to prove my sincerity here, or are you going to run away on me?”
“And just how do you propose to do that?”
“Good question. Not so easy to answer, but I’ll give it a try. I have previously received messages from God’s messengers, not often but a few times, to go out and assist total strangers, just like you. I have never once considered that any of them might harm me. I do not believe God would ever direct me to help anyone who would turn around and harm me, and that includes you. So, I am going to make you an outrageous proposal. You have every right to be suspicious of me and the possibility that I could harm you. I understand that entirely. Because I have unconditional trust in you, I want you to feel safe in my company and in my home, which actually is an apartment. My outrageous suggestion is that I will present you with the longest butcher knife in my kitchen drawers and you can literally hold on to it as your protective weapon whenever you are with me. Would that make you feel safer while you are in my company?”
“I guess so. Are you that sure I won’t slit your throat and run off with your money?”
Dacque grinned. “You will not do that. God will not let you harm me. Do you have a better suggestion?”
“Not really.”
“Okay, let’s go up to my apartment. I will bring you your butcher knife before you even cross the threshold to my apartment.”
“You really are not afraid that I will use it to rob you or whatever?”
“Like I said, I know you won’t do that. I have High connections, remember?”
“So you tell me.”
Books from 5 Prince Publishing
www.5princebooks.com
Abandoned Soul Doug Simpson
Copper Lake Ann Swann
Throne of Jelzicar/Warriors of Gravenlea S.D. Galloway
Fatal Desire Christina OW
Unwrap the Romance Anthology
An Ill Wind James P. Hanley
Stargazing Bernadette Marie
The Grand Dissolute Joel Van Valin
Old Amarillo Sara Barnard
Nobody’s Business M.J. Kane
Walker Pride Bernadette Marie
Reasons Box Set Lisa J. Hobman
A Secret to Keep Railyn Stone
The Three Wives of Adam Monroe Bernadette Marie
How to find Happiness Lindsay Harper
The Dacque Chronicles Doug Simpson
Redemption Series Melynda Price
An Everlasting Heart Series Sara Barnard
Fatal Obsession Christina OW
The Doom of Undal Katrina Sisowath
The Escape Clause Bernadette Marie
Permanent Spring Showers Scott Southard
Reasons to Stay Lisa Hobman
Wings Pete Abela
Reasons to Leave Lisa Hobman
Love Finds its Way Wilhelmina Stolen
The Paper Masque Jessica Dall
The Silver Unicorn Wayne Orr
The Merger Bernadette Marie
Lessons from a Two Year Old Pete Abela
Christmas Presence Lisa J Hobman
The Copper Rebellion Jessica Dall
The Christmas Tree Guy Railyn Stone
The Calling Jim Hanley
Braving the Darkness Melynda Price
The Three Mrs. Monroes- Vivian Bernadette Marie
How to Have a Happy Marriage Lindsay Harper
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Prologue
1 - A Season of Drought
2 – Visiting the Rain
3 - Promising Opportunities
4 - The Past Revisited
5 – Clouds of Hope
6 – Storms-a-Brewin’
7 – A Sweet Reunion
8 –Rocking the Boat
9 – Winds of Change
10 – Letting Go
11 – Forgiving Rain
12 – Silent Goodbyes
13 – Beginning Again
14 – Timing is Everything
15 – One Soul
Epilogue
LETTER FROM THE AUTHOR
About the Author
Chapter 1
Chapter 2