The Dream of Writing Becomes Reality

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
– The Holy Bible, Matthew 19:26

Writing was always something I have wanted to do. I knew I wanted to be a writer at a very young age. My Mom taught me to read at age 3. Once I started reading, I wanted to start creating my own stories. I used to make homemade newspapers for the neighbors.

I latched onto my journalism class, the high school newspaper and literary magazine. I got to indulge myself by expressing myself through words. I wanted to write and take photos, via photojournalism, as a career. I even started writing for the college campus newspaper. I was in heaven!

It was around this time that I met the man that I would later marry. He presented as very supportive and proud of how intelligent and successful I was. We found out I was pregnant a few months later, so I put my dreams on hold to have my child and marry my love…who would later turn into my captor and torturer.

Fast forward, to me with three children, finally finished my degrees, but still yearning to write. I obtained a part-time job writing for a local arts newspaper, to indulge my desires. I was even being paid to write and take photographs, so this made me happy (and ironically, a professional writer). I kept working full-time, but also utilized my small part-time job as more of a cherished hobby. My Abuser was NOT pleased. I was excelling at everything I was REQUIRED to do, so I could do this also. A year and a half into writing, he made me stop. I was heartbroken, but complied. Nothing with him was negotiable.

I adore writing for my blog, because I can write what I want, when I want, and it pleases me greatly. I also write for other blogs as a “guest blogger,” and for magazines Internationally. However, I wanted to be a true author. I had offers to co-write as a contributor, but the publishers wanted me to pay hundreds to thousands of dollars! I didn’t have that type of money being a single Mom!

God hears the wishes of a person’s heart, so I know He heard mine! I was presented with an opportunity to write in an anthology, at no financial cost. I was published in God Says I’m Battle Scar Free: Testimonies of Abuse Survivors – Part Seven, thanks to Angela Edwards and Pearly Gates Publishing. I was humbled and ecstatic, if those two feelings can co-exist — which I can assure you they can!

So, in the last few years, I have had more opportunities sent my way. God has really done well making sure that I also know what my purpose on Earth is: to share my survivor story in order to help others. I have also been given wonderful additional opportunities to contribute stories, thanks to Tony Roberts, Kristy Towson, and Misty Chaviers (see the pictures above, for the upcoming anthologies that my works will appear in).

Well, I believe that next tax season, I will treat myself to a new (to me) Macbook Pro. I’m wearing this one down! It needs more RAM and a battery that will last over 2 hours. As a single Mom, I just couldn’t justify it this year. I believe that I will be able to this next year. Plus, this poor Macbook barely survived a house fire! I do believe that I will retire it with dignity.

Dreams really can come true. Failure is never an option. Failure just means you quit trying. Sometimes you have to stop and start again in a slightly different direction. Plus, I’m going to let Whoopi Goldburg’s character, Sister Mary Clarence, in Sister Act 2 (one of my favorite movies) pass on one of my favorite quotes about being a writer: