Lunch with Giraffes

By Raji Rykert

Have you ever felt like your life was sometimes a movie that you didn’t want to be in?

Or maybe you have had a glorious life that only fairy tales are made of ? We all have life journeys that take unexpected twists and turns, but in those seasons, remarkable things can happen which can shape our lives and either tra

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Mar 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9781640885226

Book preview

Lunch with

Giraffes

by Raji Rykert

Dedication

There are many individuals who have had either a direct or indirect influence on me and whose stories are shared in these pages through my viewpoint. I must mention a few of these folks because of their unsurpassed love, support, and friendship that they have shown me over the years.

This book is dedicated to the following individuals:

Rachel, Chrissy, Julie, and Heidi, your childhood friendships with me were my only happiness from the time I was nine to the time I was eleven. Thank you for inviting me to your homes and treating me like I was part of your family.

Ms. Gilchrist, Mr. Sterling, Mrs. Perrica, and Dr. Hoggatt, my teachers, you recognized my love for books. You encouraged me to not just read but also to write. Dr. Hoggatt, when you read several of my college essays and you introduced me to your colleagues as the best student you ever had, it put me over the moon and inspired me to continue writing.

To my family, thank you for sharing my life with me! We have shouted from the highest mountaintops and walked or cried through the deepest valleys, but our strong faith in God and unwavering love for one another has always gotten us through some of our most difficult times together as a family and as individuals. I cherish you, and to my kids especially, I told you that even if I hadn’t been put on this earth as your mother, I would still want to be friends with you because you are some of the kindest, funniest, smartest, deeply compassionate, generous, and loving humans on this planet.

Gayle G., Shari B., Pamela T., Cheryl H., Rosemary W., Palma W., Elaine G., and Amy J., you all are my closest dearest friends. There is a friend that sticks closer than a brother—in this case, a sister and you embody that saying. Thank you for being my best friends. Thank you for the laughter and fun in good times and for holding me up when I felt like I was going to collapse. May we enjoy many absolutely fabulous years together as friends.

Alexis, my sister, we didn’t find each other until now, but finding you was like finding the missing piece of a puzzle. Despite our age and familial differences, my heart is whole in knowing that I have a twin who shares many of the same strengths and love for God that I have. Your Christian faith and your compassion for others inspire me to no end. I look forward to making up for lost time.

Introduction

In the animal kingdom, giraffes tower above everything. The title of this book draws its name from people who are head and shoulders above the rest because they rose above their circumstances to find hope and redemption from the only One who can provide it. Title or accomplishments don’t necessarily determine that status, at least in my book. Everyone starts out with a mother and father; a sperm is needed to fertilize the egg. Whether Mom is simply an egg donor or nurturer and Dad is a sperm donor or protector and provider, we all start out the same way. All of us have secrets that are sometimes uncomfortable topics of conversation. Some families are loving, kind, and supportive of one another whereas some families are hurtful, abusive, and dysfunctional. Friends also have an important role in shaping who we become and where we go in life. No matter what your background, my prayer is that you will find inspiration and hope from some of these pages. May you discover some things about yourself, how your own family and life experiences shaped who you are. May you find the hidden treasures which have been embedded in you all along and find your own way, fulfilling all that God has for you to accomplish during your lifetime.

I am just one of the ten billion people living on planet earth, but if you put me in a community of at least three other people, we become a three-cord strand that cannot be broken. In Christian circles, as believers in Christ, there is a power and strength that comes from relying on the power of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Imagine being able to harness the power of a nuclear bomb, and yet that is what a true believer in Christ has access to in the spiritual realm 24/7 (that’s twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week). We have access to it through prayer, believing and declaring God’s word and standing in agreement with one another. Our merciful God listens to the prayers of anyone who comes to Him with a sincere heart and who genuinely wants to hear from Him. If you want answers, God has them! It is a guaranteed promise to which God binds Himself through His Word, the Bible, and when we declare those promises or truths over our lives and the lives of others, there is a shift in the invisible realm. Angels are dispatched to bring the words to fulfillment because God watches over His Word and promises to fulfill it.

In the same way that my journey started out as an abused child and led me to become a happy, healthy human being as well as a successful businesswoman and contributing member of society, the end message is that love conquers all. Love is the end all be all. Forgiveness and graciousness are the key elements and by leaning on God’s strength when our own human efforts fail, we are guaranteed success in these areas. As a determined, charismatic, faith-filled, spirit-filled woman, this storytelling journey expresses the passion I have for God, His love, His forgiveness, and the love that I can only have for others with His help. When the harsh winds of life seem like they are about to overtake you or the joys of life warm your heart, remember, that God loves you and He is with you through all of it. Thank you for allowing me to share my journey with you and please know that my sincere prayer is to spend my days taking as many people as possible with me to heaven!

Contents

Dedication 5

Introduction 7

Big Dreams 11

My Mother, My Hero 17

Who’s Your Daddy 21

Sweet Sixteen 27

The Toilet and the Pumice Stone 31

The Reader’s Digest Version 35

Famous Friends 43

Alina Grace 53

The Ranch 59

Bullies Are Everywhere 65

When People Rip You Off 69

Dynasty or Die Nasty 73

The God Molecule 77

The Travel Bug 83

God Loves LGBTQ 89

About the Author 95

Big Dreams

After the heavy monsoon rains, a little girl spots a giant palm frond a few feet away. She grabs a long stick, picks up the prehistoric-looking large leaf-branch, places it in a big puddle and creates an imaginary makeshift boat. She positions herself on the branch in the middle of this muddy, water-filled basin and holds her stick along the side, imagining she is in a boat floating away from her native country of India, sailing to a faraway place.

Fast forward to 1962, the girl is all grown up and she is disembarking from a large ship, the Queen Elizabeth II, a large vessel designed for trans-Atlantic journeys. It happens to be the sister ship of the famed Queen Mary, a popular tourist attraction which is currently permanently docked in Long Beach, California. The young woman arrives on American soil with a nickel in her pocket but a heart full of dreams.

Her older brother greets her, and together, they head to the missionary boarding house that he shares with other international students. In her native country of India, she was a teacher and privately tutored students for extra income. In the US, she is willing to take whatever job she can find. A few days after her arrival, she lands a position as a care attendant in a local nursing home.

As is her customary routine, she gets up early while it’s still dark outside, and she waits at the nearby bus stop, eager to get to work. One morning as she waits for the bus to arrive, she is grabbed from behind and something is placed over her head. She hears male voices but is not clear on what they are saying. She feels herself being transported somewhere, and within moments, she is held down. The attackers remove her dress, and suddenly, she feels a sharp pain between her legs, and she realizes she is being raped. Time stops, she can barely breathe and then it gets quiet; her attacker or attackers have left.

The young woman had only been in the United States for two weeks and now this. For most of her life, she believed in God and called herself a Christian. Now she was asking herself and God, Why me? She told her older brother who was also a