Distant Dreams but Closer Realities

By Ronya Henderson

Dreams everyone has them. A man dreams of becoming a CEO of a big corporation, a famous athlete, a hero, or the president of the United States of America. Basically, men dream about all things rich and powerful. For women, dreams are more sentimental. Women dream of having a successful career, the perfect marriage, children, and financial freedom to live like a queen. But what if youre a Christian? Do you still have the same dreams? Is it okay to dream about wealth, power, and success?

Is there any truth that as a Christian, you can still obtain your dream job, dream house, and dream mate (i.e., soul mate) without compromising your integrity? Can you have morals in a world where if you want to be successful, youre told you must be willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead? Do dreams really come true, or should you just leave your dreams buried in your childhood memories? Or is the reality of life, as a childs nursery rhyme concludes, that life is but a dream?

Distant Dreams but Closer Realities is a story about Lisha Dillard, a successful African American career woman who decides, against her familys wishes, to move from Louisiana to Los Angeles on a journey of discovering Gods will for her life. During her first year, she faces many challenges in her quest. She has her first dose of reality, after finding her dream home, with learning the difference between southerners and westerners.

Her next task is finding a job that will provide an adequate salary as well as accommodate her aspiring acting career. She finds what she thinks is a dream job in corporate America. She believes shes working for a company that is not concerned with only making money but also with helping people is she wrong?

Her next task is finding a church. She prays and then uses an uncommon practice for finding her dream church. The one type of church she doesnt want to join is a mega-church but why?

Next on her to-do list is pursuing her acting career. Since shes nave to the entertainment industry, she believes her managers assurances that shes well connected in the business but is it the truth? Eventually, she finds her way to an acting coach who gives her a reality checkunless she has a Hollywood connection and is amoral and skinny, being talented just is not enough. She becomes painfully aware that unless shes willing to compromise her morals and integrity, she will never achieve her dream so does she?

Since she believes another reason why God told her to move to Los Angeles is to meet her God-ordained husband, she wonders if and when thatll happen. Then, one day she accidently runs into her neighbor, a handsome single man. They have a two-day whirlwind romance, but his mysterious job suddenly interrupts them, and now she must wait for his return. Is he her dream mate or just a dream?

Lisha desperately needs to know Gods will for her life. She begins questioning whether or not she actually heard from God regarding moving to Los Angeles, because of all the struggles and challenges shes had to face. After spending one weekend alone with God, she suddenly receives all the answers she been longing to know, but then she gets a phone call that could change everything.

Distant Dreams but Closer Realities is entertaining but also will minister to women, as they will identify with this fictional characters struggles and challenges in living life as a godly woman. It addresses some important issues, such as faith, trust, dating, career choices, and family. Its through this one womans life journey that many women also may learn how to discover their purpose and find their destiny.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 24, 2012
• ISBN: 9781468576429

Ronya Henderson

Ronya Henderson is a licensed ordained minister residing in Southern California. This God-fearing and gifted woman’s purpose is to inspire those in need of deliverance, encouragement, healing, and strengthening. She enjoys spreading the Gospel of the Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as well as the abundant love of a faithful God. As a Christian woman struggling to maintain her spirituality in a world of self-absorption and indulgence, she felt compelled to write inspirational books in an effort to help other Christians through life’s journey. The core conflict of stepping out on faith, and trusting and believing in God’s Word above your circumstances and other people’s opinions is something that every Christian, in general, must overcome. In spite of life’s challenges, however, we must also remember that laughter is good for the soul. Therefore, her philosophy is always to find something to smile about and to give thanks, regardless of the experience, and to keep it moving in Jesus’s name, amen. Having grown up as a “military brat” and subsequently being a former commissioned officer in the United States Air Force, she’s lived and traveled abroad extensively and has received numerous military awards and decorations. Ronya has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Grambling State University and a master of public administration (MPA) degree from Troy State University – European region.

Book preview

Distant Dreams 

but 

 Closer Realities

A Novel

Ronya Henderson

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AuthorHouse™

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© 2012 Ronya Henderson. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 5/18/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4685-7644-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4685-7643-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4685-7642-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012906267

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

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.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

About the Author

For my parents, Cleo and Betty, whose authentic love always covers me;

for my brother, Cle’Mons, who is my hero;

for my friends and close family members who have been with me through the good times and the bad;

for my sisters and brothers in Christ, whose support through prayers, encouragement, and kindness is always a blessing and greatly appreciated;

and most important,

for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whose sacrificial love for me can never be repaid. I pray God sees my life as a wonderful reflection of who He is in all His glory, and I thank Him for the grace and power I have through Him.

Chapter 1

Lisha loved life. She felt so blessed and excited about the endless possibilities of her new life. God had been present with her ever since she could remember. Even though church wasn’t a part of her early childhood, her mother made sure that Lisha knew who God was. Her family always said blessings before eating, and Lisha prayed before going to sleep. Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray to God my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray to God my soul to take. Bless Mommy, Daddy, Doug, Grandma, Grandpa, and all the people in the whole world. Amen!—this was the prayer she always would say, even after she became an adult, until the Holy Spirit taught her how to pray to the Father.

Lisha wasn’t sure what awaited her in her future, but she was certain that whatever it was, God was behind it. He orchestrated her every move, just like His Word said He did. No matter what lay ahead, Lisha knew she had no choice but to trust the Lord above all her circumstances. How else could she explain why God put the desire in her heart to pack up everything she owned and move to Los Angeles, without a job or a place to live? This was something her parents didn’t understand, nor did anybody else who knew how responsible she was. Everyone thought it was quite irresponsible of her to completely give up everything she had achieved in her career and move, just because she believed God told her to do so.

Lisha had dreamed of living in Los Angeles—it was a city close in her heart, although there was no particular reason. Perhaps it had something to do with her childhood fascination with Hollywood, movies, actors, Beverly Hills, and the glamorous lifestyle. She remembered the first play in which she had a part when she was in the fourth grade. She was the main character, and everyone laughed and enjoyed her portrayal of a lion. Her parents were extremely proud of her performance and her ability to memorize all of her lines. Yes, she was destined to become an actress, and now her dream was finally coming true. But first, she needed to find a place to live.

After a few days of apartment hunting and lots of prayer, Lisha found a large one-bedroom apartment in Inglewood—not too bad and within her budget. She’d managed to save twelve thousand dollars, which she assumed would be enough to sustain her until she found a job. The apartment was in a medium-sized complex, but she hoped she wouldn’t have to contend with noisy neighbors. She scheduled the delivery of her furniture, which unfortunately wouldn’t arrive for another two days. She had better luck, however, with her utilities—they would be turned on the next day. Then she decided to walk to the corner store, which happened to be on a main street, and pick up the local newspaper to begin her job search. Sure, she could have secured a job prior to moving to Los Angeles, but that’s what the old Lisha would have done. The new Lisha was going to experience life as it came, rather than always having things perfectly planned out, with no room for spontaneity. When she got home, as she reviewed the paper, she thought there was still something she had forgotten to do—something important, but she just couldn’t remember what it was. Then her cell phone rang, and when she answered, she heard, "Lisha, where are you?"

That was it—she’d forgotten to call her parents; she knew she should have, especially with the way her mother worried. She hadn’t spoken to her since a week earlier, when she called to tell her she had arrived in Los Angeles. Hi, Mom, I’m sorry I forgot to call you. I guess I was just so excited about finally finding an apartment.

Girl, I’ve been sitting here worried to death, thinking something happened to you. I called your father to see if he had heard from you, and I was just about to call the Los Angeles Police Department if you didn’t answer your phone.

Lisha’s parents were divorced, so the only time her mother spoke to her father was when it had something to do with the kids. Lisha chuckled. Mom, don’t you know that no news is good news? Besides, God says we’re not supposed to worry.

Well, God doesn’t have a daughter who just decides to give up a good career and move to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, now does He? her mother, Jean, snapped.

Lisha just laughed. Well, God is the One who sent me on this journey, so I think He knows what He’s doing.

Jean was unmoved. Hmm, well, I’m not so sure He told you that, because it just doesn’t make any sense for you to have a master’s degree and a successful career and then give it all up for something that is almost impossible to achieve. Do you know how many people move to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, only to end up back at home?

Lisha, with a sense of purpose and calmness, replied. Mom, we’ve already been through this. I’ve done what you and Dad wanted me to do all of my life. I went to college and got a degree in the field you wanted, and I even got my master’s degree at your request. I pursued a career that you and Dad wanted. I’ve done everything you guys have asked me to do, so now it’s time for me to do what I want to do with my life.

Well, that’s true, Jean said, calm now. You have done what we’ve asked, and I’m thankful for that. But you just make sure you call me every day, and don’t be out there starving to death and not telling anybody, you hear? If you need some money or get in a situation, you call your father, and he’ll come get you. Just don’t be out there struggling for any reason, because you don’t have to, and you know how I worry.

Lisha was happy that Jean was appeased. Yes, Mother, I’ll be okay. With that, they said their good-byes and hung up the phone. Lisha just smiled, looked up to the ceiling, and simply said, Thank you. Yes, she knew she was in God’s will, and there wasn’t anyone who could tell her differently.

Lisha spent the rest of the day relaxing and planning her week—so much to do with so little time to do it, but everything would work out according to God’s perfect will and plan. Lisha decided that she should familiarize herself with her new neighborhood and surroundings. She wondered who her neighbors were, what kind of people they were, if they went to church, how many children they had, and where they were from. She had heard that most people who lived in Los Angeles weren’t originally from Los Angeles. They came here to pursue the dream of becoming rich and famous. She dreaded being in that category, but the truth was the truth—she hoped to be a famous actress one day; it was her dream.

The apartment complex was pretty quiet during the day, which probably meant most people were at work. The nights were somewhat quiet as well. She could hear people talking and laughing in the courtyard and music playing occasionally, but generally, it was quiet after 10:00 p.m. There were quite a few small children, but they seem to be well behaved. Yes, God had picked a perfect place for her to live—no drama. Lisha, now that she was in her thirties, had long passed the drama stage of her life and wanted only to live a life of peace. She did realize that as long as she was breathing, drama might find her, but she certainly was going to make every effort to avoid it as much as possible. She had no trouble in ending a relationship if it involved drama. She was actually well known by her friends and family for having the spirit of good-bye.

Her neighborhood was like a small town. There was a post office not too far away, a grocery store, hair salons and stores, fast-food restaurants and soul-food restaurants, schools, parks, and even the Forum—formerly known as the Great Western Forum—where the Los Angeles Lakers once played. Lisha was really impressed that she didn’t need to leave her neighborhood for anything, as everything was conveniently located within miles. Los Angeles County was huge, but it was divided into many cities and area codes. Certainly not like Caddo Parish with only one area code. But that was big-city life for you. It was continually growing, and sometimes hard to keep up with the changes. This was something that Lisha found exciting and yet terrifying.

On the day Lisha’s furniture arrived, she had just gotten up and dressed when the movers called her to let her know they were there. She thought, Today is going to be a great day because God worked it out so I am their first delivery, instead of my having to wait all day for them to show up. She was overjoyed as she exclaimed, Good morning! How are you? She buzzed them into the courtyard of the complex and then stood at the railing in front of her apartment, waiting for them. As soon as she saw them approach the stairs, she said apologetically, Unfortunately, there’s no elevator. The movers didn’t reply; they just kept walking toward the stairs. Lisha thought their attitude was a bit unpleasant, but she shrugged it off. They probably had a long, hard day ahead and didn’t have time for idle conversation. She escorted them into in her apartment, and the man Lisha assumed was the head mover—he held a clipboard—surveyed the apartment and then said, You have a lot of stuff. Are you sure it’s all going to fit in here?

Lisha’s smile disappeared—she really hadn’t given it much thought—but she replied confidently. Yes, of course. He handed her the clipboard and instructed her to check off the boxes and items as they brought them in.

The movers were very efficient and diligent in their work, calling out box numbers and locations. Lisha directed them where to place the boxes. Soon, all boxes and items were in the apartment—that was the easy part. Lisha offered them a drink of cold water, and they gladly welcomed the break. She tried to engage in conversation with them, but they seemed annoyed that she was even talking to them, so she gave up and left them alone. After resting for a few minutes, the movers got back to work, opening boxes and assembling furniture. About two hours later, Lisha noticed they were slowing down and wondered if they were hungry. Her Southern hospitality took center stage as she asked, Are you guys hungry? I’d be glad to get you something to eat. Do you like pizza?

The movers had a look of both surprise and joy as they eagerly said, Yes, please.

She called a pizza place the men recommended, only to find out after placing the order that they didn’t have delivery service. She wasn’t entirely comfortable with leaving them in her apartment alone, but she said a prayer and announced she was going to pick up the pizza. When she returned, they were still hard at work. Before she could announce she was back, the head mover called to the others in Spanish, and they immediately stopped what they were doing. Lisha just smiled and held out the three boxes of pizza, which they took outside to their truck. They ate quickly and were back within twenty minutes to finish their work. Praise God, Lisha thought. Once the movers left, Lisha sat down on her couch, looked up at the ceiling and said, Thank you, Father, for this day, and then she lay down and fell asleep.

Lisha thought that finding a job would be easy, but she was wrong. She needed to find a job that was flexible and that would accommodate her going on auditions. She didn’t want to work at a restaurant and live the typical starving actor life. She was different; therefore, she should do things differently—she was on Divine assignment, after all. Since she had administrative skills, she tried to find a temp job that used those skills. It took her weeks of searching on the Internet to find decent paying jobs that also seemed like interesting work. She eventually got into a routine: she’d get up every morning, eat a bowl of cereal, and then begin her job search. She usually sent out two or three resumes each morning, and then she would spend her afternoons driving around Los Angeles, seeing the tourist sites, like Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards, Mann’s Chinese Theater, Universal City Walk, Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles, and other tourist attractions. Her first Saturday in Los Angeles was spent hanging out at Venice Beach. She enjoyed seeing all the people—the characters. She felt such peace and the feeling of being exactly where she was supposed to be, so she couldn’t help but have a smile on her face constantly. She wondered if people thought she was crazy for smiling at them, but they just didn’t know what she knew.

Every time she went to sleep, she thanked God for all He had done for her, especially since she’d moved, and she prayed He would direct her to a church. She knew that above anything else, she had to stay close to God; otherwise, her dreams never would happen. How could she possibly live her life without God? It was His will that she become an actress, and she knew He would be faithful in guiding her to it. She slept peacefully and dreamed about what her life was going to be like. How long would it take her to become famous? Would she be a TV or movie actress? Would she marry a fellow actor? Would her parents move to Los Angeles to be close to her? She also thought about all the people from her hometown that would be so proud of her, as well as how proud she would be of herself for achieving something that was nearly impossible to achieve. That was the goodness of God—that against all odds, He can make the impossible possible. Yes, she would become a famous actress one day, and God would get the glory.

On Sunday morning, she slept until noon. She thought God would have given her a vision of a church, but He hadn’t. When she finally got up, she read her Scriptures, prayed, and then cooked herself some breakfast and watched TV. She just wanted to relax and do nothing all day. She waited until the time when she was certain her mother was out of church, and then she called her. Jean caught Lisha up on all the church gossip and then told her what was going on with her father’s side of the family—well, that was according to what she had heard from Lisha’s aunt Pearl, her father’s sister. Lisha later decided to call her father, Vernon, to get the truth on the family gossip, because sometimes Jean exaggerated a bit to make the story more interesting.

Hello, Father dear, Lisha said, using her usual greeting for her father.

Hello, Lisha dear, he said, which was Vernon’s usual response. So what’s going on with you?

Lisha got right to the point. Nothing much. I just got off the phone with Mom, and she filled me in on all the family drama.

Vernon was always ready to contradict whatever Jean said. So what’s the gossip Pearl told your mama this time?

Lisha went into the details, and Vernon, as usual, had an answer for everything—he was the self-proclaimed Mr. Right about Everything. Between Jean and Vernon, Lisha didn’t stand a chance of turning out normal. Her friends often wondered where she got her sense of humor and craziness, and she always replied, My parents—they’re both crazy, which always brought about another round of laughter to an already humorous conversation.

After Vernon cleared up the family gossip, he filled Lisha in on the information that Jean and Aunt Pearl knew nothing about. Lisha laughed and added commentary whenever appropriate. She always enjoyed the conversations with her father. She was truly Daddy’s little girl, so there wasn’t anything she enjoyed more than spending time with her father, even if it was just over the phone—and Vernon sure knew how to talk.

Being retired gave Vernon plenty of time to talk and come up with bright ideas. He then would assertively task other people to research information for him. He figured his days on this earth were numbered, so when he told someone to get him information, he expected that person to get it to him—quickly! He had big plans and didn’t have time to waste. Everybody had to fall in line and dance to his music. He would say, I mean what I say, and I do as I say.

Lisha spent the rest of the day calling her girlfriends, catching up on each other’s lives. Everyone had gone their separate ways after they graduated from college, but they managed to keep in touch via phone, e-mail, and occasional gatherings whenever anyone who had moved out of town would come back for a visit.

Praise the Lord, Lisha finally found a job. It took her two months with very few interviews, but finally, God blessed her with a job. She would work the evening shift, 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., which left her plenty of time to go on auditions during the day and take acting classes at night before work. It was a customer service job, and it didn’t matter to her that it only paid seventeen dollars an hour, because she figured she’d manage. She also hoped God would bless her with a church home, but so far, no such luck. She took the initiative of looking in the phone book for churches. She called the Baptist churches—she knew that nothing beat a good old-fashioned black Baptist church. She also didn’t want to belong to one of those mega-churches in Los Angeles that she had heard so much about, where the pastor didn’t even know all his congregants. What would happen if she needed to meet with the pastor for some reason? She might have to wait six months to a year to have an appointment, and by that time, she’d be knee-deep in sin.

She’d come from a small-sized church, where she knew the pastor and his wife, and they knew her. She also knew a lot of people at church because she had been in the youth choir and the adult choir and also had been an usher at one point. It was like having an extended family. That was what she was used to, and that was what she wanted. She focused on searching the phone book, making notations next to those she thought were black churches. Each Sunday, she visited a different church, anticipating it would be the one, but after two months without finding it, she thought, Surely God hasn’t forgotten about me. He knows how important church is to me, so why is it taking so long? Nevertheless, His time is His time, and He will show me the right church when He decides.

Work was fabulous—a dream job come true! She had wonderful colleagues and the job wasn’t difficult at all. She made new friends, and one, Fred, was pursuing an acting career as well. Fred had made his acting debut on stage in New York. He’d decided five years ago to move to Los Angeles and try his hand at television after he had exhausted the Off-Broadway circuit. When he first came to Los Angeles, he had done well, but now he was without an agent, and age was a factor. He had given himself one more year, and if he didn’t make it, he would call it quits and get a real job. Lisha felt God had brought her into Fred’s life to keep him encouraged. If he had talent, he shouldn’t give up on his dreams. Then there was Dee. Lisha really liked her spirit. She was an attractive, average-sized woman who was very comfortable in her own skin. She had pursued an acting career at one time but decided it wasn’t for her, because according to Hollywood standards, she was too fat. But according to Dee herself, she was blessed in all the right places. Lisha couldn’t agree more, because she, too, was blessed. Dee was engaged to her high school sweetheart, and Lisha thought that was very romantic. She didn’t know too many people in their twenties who were jumping the broom with the only person they’d ever dated. Lisha didn’t have a high school sweetheart. Vernon and Jean had been very strict when it came to dating. Lisha could count the number of dates she had in high school on two fingers: one to the prom and another the summer before she began college. She did sneak out on a few dates, though, telling