Trials, Tragedy, Triumphs

By Rene Vega and Shirley Fisher.

The book is written with the hope that after it is read the reader would understand that even though they may experience many storms in life to trust God. He will never leave nor forsake you. He has a plan and purpose for all our lives. Sometimes it is necessary to go through various trials so that he can get our attention.
Finally, the ultimate message of this book is to inspire and encourage someone to hold on to Gods unchanging hands. I am a living testimony that with Gods unconditional love for us we can go through life assured that we will come out victoriously. He is the author and finisher of our faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 23, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477275207

Rene Vega

Shirley Fisher has lived most of her life trying to please others and putting her needs last. This behavior resulted from her being physically and emotionally abused at a very young age. She also developed low self esteem which made her feel unwanted and unloved. However, that all ended one day when she realized that as long as God loved her it didn’t matter who was against her. God’s grace and unconditional love helped her rise above adversities and become the strong independent woman she is today. She has earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at the College of New Resources and was the Valedictorian of the class of 2009. She desires one day to mentor young women and share her life experiences.

Book preview

TRIALS

TRAGEDY

TRIUMPHS

SHIRLEY FISHER

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AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2012 by Shirley Fisher. All rights reserved.

Cover Designer: Rene Vega

Editor: Miryom Willis

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 10/18/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4772-7521-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-7520-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012918218

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

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

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Unwanted

Tormented

Mama Marie And Me

A Need For Attention

The Torment Continues

You Reap What You Sow

The Unimaginable

It Hurt So Bad

New Beginnings

Feeling Abandoned

The Inevitable

Prayer Changes Things

God To The Rescue

Erin

Shocked

Gone But Not Forgotten

The Trial

The Unimaginable Part Ii

Blind Dates

The Unexpected

My Outer Body Experience

Change

Free

About The Author

FOREWORD

When I first met Shirley, I immediately recognized her leadership ability. I was transitioning through the supervisory line in my job career and had recently relocated to the same Human Resources Administration office where she worked. I was certainly unfamiliar with the use of the computer system although I knew I needed to access this system in order to be effective in my administration’s operations.

Although our job descriptions were very different, she seemed not to pay attention to the territorial organization culture, but rather jumped into action offering her assistance and more! She did, in fact, show herself a proactive team player. Her demeanor was serious and professional and paid off in her own pursuits up the supervisory line. But what also struck me about this woman was her warm, but distant eyes that revealed some pain.

Shirley’s focus at her tasks marked a very distinct pattern at work. She arrived at the same time and left at the same time. Her lunch hour was observed like clockwork. And she expected that everybody else should do the same. She had very little tolerance for time being wasted. She put in an honest day’s work and clocked out and disappeared. It took me a while after getting to know her better to discover that this is the way she was off the clock as well. And where she went after work did not end after work as she kept a vigilant work-out schedule, eating a very healthy dinner, keeping a very particular social calendar and respect for bedtime. As a matter of fact, one could almost tell time by her regiment.

This discipline proved to be an important lesson for me in our friendship as I was raising my children and moving up in my own career. Although I wondered how she could keep up with this lifestyle.

I know that after reading this biography you will have an appreciation for Shirley’s gratitude of time and expressions. Her experiences that emerge in this deep look into her life, truly demonstrate what a strong, determined, warm, loving and spiritual individual she is. Like so many young black women growing up in the inner city in the 1960s the challenges and opportunities resulted in a myriad of insights. The ‘givens’ in her story speak for themselves. I cannot imagine how I could get through the loss of a child, not to mention the way in which her one and only son died. I will not attempt to speak to it accept through the eyes of one who has experienced it. And this is it!

Shirley’s brutal honesty also speaks to her humility which allows her to reveal her own insecurities, especially when the odds were stacked against her. There is a Power greater than we, able to hold us and nurture our souls when we cannot improve our lot though we try. I pray that we can all learn some very valuable lessons that life brings and about how we choose to handle them.

I love you Shirley and want for you all the happiness your life can stand. As your friend and sister I am so proud of all of your accomplishments and your successes. Thank you for sharing your innermost thoughts and travels through your tribulations. May it never be in vain; and let it offer hope to the masses who will read your story. We should all be so fortunate to experience the tremendous gift of life with such heightened appreciation.

Love always,

Miryom Levi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To my daughter Kisha Nadine, I love you and thank God for you being the powerful woman of God that you are. It was your faith and prayers that helped during my dark times; you certainly knew how to get a prayer through. I thank God for you because you have truly been a beacon of light in my life. I am also grateful to God for your ministry; you are one of his angels who always kept me lifted in prayer. Finally, thank you for blessing me with three beautiful grandsons who I love and adore.

To my best friend Marissa Gonzalez; thank you for our thirty two years of friendship and for being my sister and friend. You have been with me through the good times as well as the bad times; for that I am forever grateful. I have shared my secrets, disappointments, hurt, sorrows and victories. Your friendship over the years has restored my faith that there are still genuine friends that exist. "Good friends are hard to find, harder to hang on to, and hardest still to let go". As you mentioned numerous times before, we will be sitting in our rocking chairs reminiscing about our many experiences. You are a priceless treasure; I am never going to let you go.

To my spiritual mother Thelma Artis; thank you for your prayers and guidance throughout the years. Your wisdom and unconditional love helped me get through my darkest hours. You assured me many times if I hold on to God’s unchanging hands he will surely bring me out. Finally, your words of encouragement and the verse you reminded me of numerous times. Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning

To my college Professor Tachelle Wilkes, thank you for teaching and encouraging me to dig deep within myself. You always believed I had so much more to express through my writing. You were also instrumental in helping me perfect my writing skills which inspired me to write this book.

To my trainers Daniel Strong and Carol Carby of Strong Bodies Gym; Thank you so much for assisting me in achieving my weight lost of thirty pounds. Also in raising my awareness in what to eat in order maintain a healthy body and obtain positive results. "It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it".

To the late Pastor Nathaniel Tyler-Lloyd of Trinity Baptist Church; I was inspired by his many sermons over the years. The sermons not only taught me how to persevere and keep the faith but also to trust God in every aspect of my life. "Gone but not forgotten".

INTRODUCTION

There are so many stories written about a person’s life. I decided to write about my journey through trial, tribulations and triumphs because I wanted the reader know that in spite of what we go through in life God is the ultimate author and finisher of our faith. I was born in a family of seventeen siblings. I was considered the black sheep and ugly duckling of the family I encountered many trials during my life that made me feel like I was going to lose my mind. However, it was through these trials and faith in God that made me the strong woman I am today.

The message that I hope to relay is after you have gone through the good bad and the ugly, there is still hope for you. In addition, it is my desire that after my book is read that you will feel empowered and you will know and understand that there is nothing too hard for God; just cast your cares on him At the time that I was