It Isn't Easy Being Me

By Maria Ferreira

This is My story. The story of someone who had much on her plate to deal with from early childhood.
From academic difficulties, health concerns to family and other relationship issues. It has strengthened her relationship with her Creator, whom she loves dearly, and makes her eager to share the many important lessons from these events as object-lessons with other people, who will hopefully also find them valuable.
All was not only doom and gloom, however. She also had several successes and many blessings along the way, which she loves to share.
She has equipped herself with training in health and counselling skills in order to assist people with their questions, concerns and doubts. It is her dearest prayer that God will use her life experiences as a tool to guide His children, whom He loves to the point sacrificing His own life, home to Him. Eternally

• Language: English
• Publisher: Maria Ferreira
• Release date: Oct 26, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311481528

Maria Ferreira

Health and lifestyle counseling, education and care is my passion in life. I believe health counselling is the right arm of the gospel.I love stories and enjoy telling stories to young and old.I have a strong preference for stories with a Christian moral. When I'm not telling stories, I read them.

Book preview

It’s Not Easy Being Me

Maria Ferreira

Smashwords Edition

Note of thanks:

Thank you very much, Mike, for helping me with the frustrating parts of the process of preparing this book for publishing. Thank you for your patience with my slowness. Thank you also for the beautiful cover photography.

Many thanks, also, to everyone at Smashwords, for your assistance.

Table Of Contents:

Foreword

1. Little Bundle of Joy

2. Building Blocks

3. Teach Your Children Well

4. A Walking Dictionary

5. Christian Education

6. Secrets, Plots and Curses

7. Employment

8. Choosing My Life Partner

9. I Do. Or Not?

10. The Dark Pit

11. Disability

12. The Seventh Day.

13. A Gift of Celibacy

14. The Calling

15. But He’s Not Your Husband!

16. The Author

17. The Challenge

18. Not So Happy New Year!

19. Where Is Your Home?

20. Two are better than one

Bibliography

Foreword

The aim of this book is not merely to tell the story of my life, but to share the many lessons I have learnt along the way, hoping that someone will be touched by it and have their lives enriched. As this is the story of my life, all names have been changed for the sake of privacy.

I live my life for my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Whoever comes along my way must see Him living in and through me, or my life is in vain. I praise the Lord daily for His provision, guidance and protection. Without Him I am nothing - Act 17:28.

1. Little Bundle of Joy

Children are an inheritance from the Lord. They are a reward from Him - Psalm 127:3.

I was born on Friday 21 February 1969. My Parents, Alma and Hendrik, named me Anna – Maria. I am told that I do take after my mother in looks as well as in nature. I certainly take after her in my need to care of those who find themselves in physical or emotional agony. Alma was a nurse and midwife. I am not going to hazard a guess as to whether my parents always regarded me as much of a blessing. My father always loved to tell me how hyperactive I was. He told me how I gave the nurses a hard time from the moment I was born. I would get out of my incubator and run all the way down the passage with the poor nurse chasing after me. I am sure that was meant as a joke. My father also told me how my parents had to keep watch over me in shifts to make sure I stayed put in my bed at night.

The Bible maintains that children are gifts from the Lord and that they should be brought to Christ from an early age.

Some people brought little children to Jesus to have him hold them. But the disciples told the people not to do that. When Jesus saw this, he became irritated. He told them, Don't stop the children from coming to me. Children like these are part of the kingdom of God. I can guarantee this truth: Whoever doesn't receive the kingdom of God as a little child receives it will never enter it." Jesus put his arms around the children and blessed them by placing his hands on them – Mar 10:13 – 16.

Our children must be instructed in the ways of God. "Assemble the men, women,

and children, as well as the foreigners who live in your cities. Have them listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and faithfully obey every word of these teachings. Their children, who don't know these teachings, must hear them and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land that you are going to take possession of when you cross the Jordan River" – Deuteronomy 31:12, 13.

Train a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not turn away from it - Pro 22:6.

This, my dear parents, does not mean taking them to school or Sunday school and expecting the teachers to read them stories from the Bible. . It means taking them with you into the church and sit with them during the church service. It means that you should personally make time to read to them from the Bible, have discussions with them about Bible topics and pray for and with them This is the one thing I missed most from my childhood years.

Children should be sensibly trained. I am a firm believer in the proverb: Spare the rod and spoil the child.

Foolishness is firmly attached to a child's heart. Spanking will remove it far from him - Pro 22:15.

Correct your son and he will give you peace of mind. He will bring delight to

your soul - Pro 29:17.

This does not mean hitting a child until he bleeds or smacking him for no apparent reason but that he/she annoys you. I would have appreciated if my father had at least explained what he expected of me and why. If he had good reason to believe and to expect the things he expected from me this would have avoided a lot of rebellion and bitterness.

Fathers, don't make your children bitter about life. Instead, bring them up in Christian discipline and instruction - Eph 6:4.

Be careful not to make your children feel like they are an unwanted burden to you. No one who saw you felt sorry enough for you to do any of these things. But you were thrown into an open field. You were rejected when you were born - Ezekiel16:5.

In his book More than a child, Michael F. Malyon astutely has this to say about children "A child is like an empty canvas. At birth, their brain is empty. You can fill it with anything you wish. The child you're looking at is already, in part, a product of your design. Every action, thought and word, whether through neglect or your own influence, is a direct result of your actions. You as parent can shape your child's life in any way you want. Nobody has the influence upon your kids that you have. By placing the right emphasis on the right areas, you can create a musician, an architect, and engineer, or a train wreck. Now creating a wreck is not as hard as physically abusing your child. Sadly, it's much easier.

Allow me to explain. If God created us in His image, He wanted you to be the god of that little child. It's part of a grand design. Your presence in that child's life is of vital and life changing importance. Unless you write the song to which you'd like your child to sing, the tune will be unsynchronized and false. We do have teachers at our schools, but their job is to focus on your child's academic life. While it is true that they do have a greater responsibility towards their students, they have at least thirty children in each class. In today's world, classes can be up to sixty students big, depending on the country and school. Now each teacher might only have half an hour per day with one class. That gives the teacher an average of one minute per student, in a small group. Even if they had the energy, bonding with every student is simply impossible. You are the only one your child has. You should be their source of strength, hope and assurance.

What you need to realize, is that your child needs you. It's not just on a financial level. They need you in every way a child can need guidance. You should be their mentor—a life coach if you will, their best friends, the judge, the sympathizer, a guardian, a doctor, a psychologist and most of all, their representative of God. Does the task scare you? It should.

But there is hope!

The very process, through which your child came into life, is a gift from God. Not just for the joy, or the mind boggling complexity or stupendous marvel of the process that takes place, but because it was designed to guide your actions towards your child. God wanted you to remember the intimacy, the joy and the overwhelming awe you experienced during conception. It was His design that this should be, but the starting point in a life designed to have the same intense fulfillment from every moment of your child's existence. The same bliss that formed your new born baby could be found within every moment of its life. From the closeness, commitment and intimacy between a husband and wife was to result a new bond, which should mirror the affection and commitment found between its loving creators. Anything short of this is defying the design of God.

The tenderness and dependence that your new born shows, was designed to help you understand just how much they need you. My mother still enjoys talking to her mother. It makes her smile. It's not just mere friendship, it’s a bond stronger than any human can describe in mere words. It completes an empty space within your heart. My grandmother's interest in my mom gives her a sense of value, appreciation and purpose. While she might not need it as much as your child needs your affection, it is still a human need. It was designed by your Creator. But sadly, these principles seldom materialize in real life.

Sin has scourged our world. It caused hurt, heart ache and pain. Sex itself has become cheap, and often times, we look back at the night of conception with a mixture of regret and shame. The problem is, subconsciously, our thoughts shape our