The Lord's Plan: My Journey with the Lord a Choice, a Child, an Answer to Prayer, a Witness

By Kimberly Dismukes

God is real. This amazing true story brings to light that the Lord has a plan for each life before we are born. The awesome power of prayer, the miracles He performs and how He reveals Himself today are demonstrated in this book. We are all Gods children and He loves every one of us.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 7, 2013
• ISBN: 9781449777579

Kimberly Dismukes

I was born in April of 1961 two months early. I was not born in a hospital and it was more than an hour before I was admitted into a hospital. They did not have the technology they have today to care for premature babies, and it amazes me I am even alive today. The Lord had a purpose and a plan for my life and He still does. My birthmother was unable to keep me and the Lord had a family ready and waiting for me. No one involved knew it at the time; but looking back only the Lord could have had such a plan. I live in the Austin, Texas area with my husband James and our dog Indy. We have a daughter Andrea, our granddaughter Cloe, Cloe's Dad Louie, our son Kyle, our grandson Jayden, Jayden's Mom Qunitina who all live close to us. We are very close to family, friends and our church family. We are members of Eternal Faith Baptist Church in Manor, Texas where we are active in Sunday School and Church. I am active in women's bible study, have been an active choir member and church clerk since 2007.

Book preview

THE LORD’S PLAN

My Journey with the Lord

A Choice, A Child, An Answer to Prayer, A Witness

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KIMBERLY DISMUKES

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Copyright © 2013 Kimberly Dismukes

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible New International Version®, copyrights © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NCV are taken from The Holy Bible, New Century Version®, copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked LB are taken from The Living Bible, copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from The King James Study Bible (previously published as The Liberty Annotated Study Bible, King James Version), copyright 1988 by Liberty University. Copyrights © 1964, 1966, 1968 by Carta, Ltd. Copyrights © 1975, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1988 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

Legacy of an Adopted Child, as seen in DEAR ABBY by Abigail Van Buren, a.k.a. Jeanne Phillips, and founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips, copyright © 1983, Universal Press Syndicate Universal Uclick. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

All interior photos are from the Dismukes family collection unless otherwise noted and are reprinted with permission.

Photo of Michael & Heather Knipstein family on page 45 by Ashley Wonderly Photography, © Ashley Wonderly, Georgetown, TX. All rights reserved.

Photo of Brian & Debbie Lodge family on page 102 by Little Miss Photography, © Amber Johnson, Savannah, GA. All rights reserved.

WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

ISBN: 978-1-4497-7758-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-7759-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-7757-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012922669

WestBow Press rev. date: 1/3/2013

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Contents

Dedication

Foreword

Acknowledgments

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1 A Request for My Testimony

2 My Parents’ Prayer

3 Harriett’s Choice—the Truth, the Secret, the Birth

4 Life Goes on for Me and My Family

5 My Wedding

6 Life Goes on for Harriett

7 Seeking God’s Will

8 The Search

9 Answered Prayer

10 Life after Our First Meeting for Me and My Family

11 Meeting a Little Brother for the First Time

12 A Bittersweet Trip to Nashville

13 Meeting a Little Sister for the First Time

14 Part of My Heritage—Sicily

15 The Blessing of Parents

16 A Difficult Subject—Abortion

17 God’s Plan Revealed

18 How to Become a Christian

19 Eternity Awaits

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Bible References

About the Cover Artist, Nina Burkle

About the Author,Kimberly Dismukes

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to the Lord.

All I have is a gift from the Lord. The Lord meets all of my needs. All that I am, all that I ever hope to be, I owe to the man with the nail-scarred hands. He has blessed me more than words can express.

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus

(Phil. 4:19).

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Foreword

I was a life never planned by anyone but the Father. Many couples plan to have a child, want to have a child. This was not the case with my life. The Father opened my eyes through a journey to find my birth mother and learn my family health history. The Lord guided every move of my search and led me to discover so much more than what I had hoped to find. The Father led me to my birth mother. She shared her family health history with me. We developed a wonderful, close relationship. But the Lord opened my eyes to even more. He allowed me to see His awesome design for my life and the lives of others. He fulfills all of our needs and loves us so much. The Father plans every life, and each of us is His creation and His child.

All lives are touched by God. It is a wondrous blessing to see His hand at work and recognize what He has accomplished. God has a plan for each of us before we are born. You will see the testimony of God’s love and His plan for me unfold in the pages of this book.

At twenty-seven, I began my search for the woman who gave birth to me. My decision to search was heart-wrenching and bittersweet. I had been blessed with a mom and dad who loved and cared for me as much as any parents devoted to their children. My search began out of concern about health history—most of all for the two precious children with whom my husband and I were blessed.

I titled this book The Lord’s Plan—My Journey with the Lord—A Choice, a Child, an Answer to Prayer, a Witness. My life has been a journey with the Lord. Harriett made the choice to continue with a pregnancy and to reject abortion. She had a child. I was an answer to prayer—my parents’ prayer to have a baby. Since that time, there have been many prayers—my birth mother’s prayers that I would be safe and always loved, prayers to God about my life and the search for my birth parents, prayers after I found my birth mother that the Lord would direct our paths, and prayers that the Lord would use my life as He intends. As for the Lord’s plan, I believe He put me here in answer to my parents’ prayer, to be a witness, and to share His love and the saving grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Each life is precious, and each life has a purpose. You will see God’s plan for many lives as you read this book.

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Kimberly and her family about the time the search began for her birthmother.

Top left to right, Andrea, Kimberly, James and Kyle.

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Acknowledgments

First to the Lord for His blessings, for His plan for my life, and for revealing that plan to me.

To Harriett, my birth mother, who decided first of all to give birth to me, to give me up to have a mom and a dad, then later to give me the health history I was seeking, and to open her heart to me and become a dear friend. Also, for her tireless efforts assisting me in reviewing this book over and over again, I say thank you.

To my grandparents—Dr. Robert and Mary Alice Burns, John and Gertrude Beckett—and Granny and Granddaddy Burns’s friend, Granddaddy’s colleague, and the Becketts’ family doctor, Eugene P. Sam Johnson.

To my parents, who always loved me unconditionally, encouraged me, and were always available for me and my family. Also, for their excellent memories and help with the book, I love you both.

To my husband, who has loved me, encouraged me, helped me, and always stood by me. I know I can count on you. Thank you for your input and for putting up with me while I was writing this book. I love you.

To Robert Bob Kuhn, an attorney and a dear friend who persistently advocated for me to obtain the court order I needed.

To the Honorable Judge John L. Jack Placke for his careful consideration of everyone involved and for his decision to sign the order releasing my original birth certificate.

To my dear pastor, Gene Smith, and his dear, sweet wife, Jean, for their guidance and for encouraging me to share my testimony and life story with others so that all may know God loves every one of us and has a plan for our lives. Thank you for your prayers, for your words of encouragement, and for critiquing and mostly praising my efforts in writing this book.

To each of my family members, I say thank you for the role you have had in my life. Each of you is important to me, and I love you all.

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1

A Request for My Testimony

One beautiful Saturday afternoon in December of 2007, our pastor and his wife opened their home to our congregation. Pastor Gene and Mrs. Jean Smith had been shepherding our church for about three months, and they wanted to welcome the church family to visit their home and see where they lived. My husband, James, had other obligations that Saturday, so my birth mother, Harriett, and I decided we would go together to visit the Smiths at their open house. I had purchased flowers to take and we were on our way. We traveled from our homes in Manor, Texas, to their home in Elgin, Texas, and followed the directions they gave us.

Their home was lovely and nestled in a wooded setting. The pastor and his wife graciously showed us and other church members around. We enjoyed refreshments and visited with one another. Pastor Gene and I were in one of the guest bedrooms looking at an antique Hoosier kitchen cabinet he had restored, and I began talking to him about it. My husband was also working on an antique Hoosier kitchen cabinet. I told the pastor that James might need to ask him where to find hinges or other parts. He and I laughed and said it sure was a small world when you realized that two people had found and were working on such similar antiques.

I began talking to Pastor Gene about how the Lord works in our lives. I told him I was adopted and thought it was amazing I was even alive. I said that of course I knew it was God’s will. I told him that when I was born I weighed just over three pounds and that I was not born in a hospital. It was more than an hour before I was admitted, and the hospital did not have the technology available today to care for premature babies. Pastor Gene said, Wow! I told him Harriett was my birth mother. He asked if I would share my life testimony before the church during the Christmas Eve service. I told him I would be honored.

Before that service in 2007, I prayerfully prepared myself to stand before God and the congregation to give a detailed account of what the Lord had done and was doing for me. I looked up Scripture verses and meditated on the importance of knowing Christ as a personal Savior and how to express that to others. I thought carefully about what to wear. Harriett and I had gone shopping sometime before, and she bought me a red sweater. I decided the red sweater and black slacks would be appropriate, and I wore a sterling silver necklace and cross that my mom and dad had given me for Christmas one year.

James, Harriett, and I arrived at the church early. The church was decorated with poinsettias, and the lights were dimmed. The setting was humbling to me as I reflected that it was Christmas Eve, the night before we celebrated Christ’s birth. The church filled up quickly.

One of our deacons, Bryan Sinclair, was to read a poem to begin the evening. The congregation would then sing two hymns, O Come All Ye Faithful and Gentle Mary Laid Her Child, and someone was to give testimony and sing a solo. I would then give my testimony. But the program was changed. Pastor Gene told me I would be speaking right after the two hymns, which meant I was third in the order. I was already a little nervous, and this made me even more jittery. But everything happens for a reason. One of my best friends from work was sitting behind me and said, Kim, I am going to sing a solo after your testimony. I thought, If Joanne can be so calm and she is going to sing after my testimony, Lord, you can certainly calm my fears and speak through me to all these people. I have always trusted the Lord; I am just an ordinary person—no one special.

I