I am so thrilled! I have been chosen by BookDaily.com to be the Featured Author of the Day! What an honor! The feature will be published in their ezine tomorrow, May 19. Here is the link to my profile page, which will be highlighted:
As a prequel to my debut on BookDaily, I thought a brief autobiography would be appropriate. Here is Part I:
God had been trying to get my attention for a while. I was extremely stressed with my responsibilities as principal of a private school and about the health of my elderly parents. Some days almost seemed unbearable, working ten to twelve hours a day and dashing to doctors and hospitals. Gradually, I developed my own personal health concerns.
I was diagnosed with stage four cancer, a very aggressive form that required immediate attention. I was told over the phone, while I was still at work. I was shocked, even though I suspected bad news. Somehow, hearing it out loud made it more real. My first thoughts were how I would tell my family. Strangely, I also thought about the need to write a will, not that I have much to pass on. I believed in God with all my heart, so I wasn’t really afraid of dying, but I worried about how my family would cope. While driving on my way home, I talked to God. I told Him that whatever fate He chose for me, I would accept. I told Him that whether I lived or died, I knew I had the victory. In death I would be blessed in heaven, but if He chose to allow me to live, I would try to be a blessing to others. Either way, I prayed that God would be glorified. From that moment until the end of my chemotherapy and radiation treatments, I felt a remarkable peace. My stress disappeared! Almost a year later, I was declared free of cancer, and I was back at work, until the next time God tried to get my attention.
After 23 years of working for the same organization, I found myself out of a job. I felt pierced to my soul because my work was my life. It gave my life purpose. At that point, I did not know what God had planned for me. Compared to battling cancer or anything else in my life, this was much more devastating to me. Immediately, I relied on my faith. I read the Bible and talked to God, and this time, I listened for His voice with a message for me. I felt God comforting me and helping me to understand my circumstances, yet, for months, I did not know what He wanted me to do. What would be my new purpose in life? I struggled with understanding what was to come next. I sought employment without any luck. Rather than sitting around and doing nothing, I decided to go back to school and earn my Master’s Degree. That in itself, was quite a journey, but it gave me a purpose.
One day, I had a conversation with my sister. She suggested that I begin a journal to help me determine my new direction in life. I took her advice, at first, but I found that writing about myself did not inspire me. I decided to write about what did inspire me, God. However, at first, I had no idea what to write about. I thought about my own attributes. I considered myself humble and meek, but I believed those traits to be a detriment to my professional career. I believed I needed to be more assertive, yet I knew Christ taught us to be humble and meek. To help me resolve the contradiction, I decided to begin writing about the Beatitudes from Matthew 5, where Christ declared, “Blessed are those who are poor in spirt” (humble) and “Blessed are the meek.” I wanted to prove to the world and to myself that humility and meekness are attributes we should aspire toward in ourselves, characteristics that are valued by God. At the same time, due to my experiences, I had become disappointed with people. I wanted to know why so many Christians struggled with putting Christ’s teachings into practice, including myself. So, I began writing.
The writing process for me was incredible.
To be continued...
