A Diamond in the Rough

By Christina Billiot

Like coal, without extreme pressure and heat over long periods of time, God could never produce the most beautiful diamond you were meant to be. You may be a "Diamond in the Rough" now, but you are still a diamond. 

If you feel like you are in a dark place, or your life is out of control, you are not alone. Here, I share my personal t

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Aug 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9781637694770

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A Diamond in the Rough

Trilogy Christian Publishers A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

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Copyright © 2021 by Christina Billiot

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

B-ISBN#: 978-1-63769-476-3

E-ISBN#: 978-1-63769-477-0

A Diamond in the Rough

By:

Christina M. Billiot

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my Lord and Savior first and foremost, for, without Him, this would have never been lived, written, or read. Next, to my parents Bob and Margaret McClain, thank you for being my number one cheerleaders, teachers, and prayer warriors. Next, to my children Dalton, Steven, Sierra, and Kristien, thank you for loving me when I was unlovable. Thank you for becoming the God-fearing, God-loving, caring, compassionate, smart, talented, and beautiful souls that I get to call mine. Thank you for your forgiveness of my big and small flaws. Thank you for each of my grandchildren, Kaden, Aria, Nyla, Jordynn, Ava, Skylynn, Caleb, and Nova, who are my fruit and my heart. Thank you to my first daughter-in-love, Emily; you believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. Your prayers pushed me with love for this to even happen.

A special dedication to my mama, who didn’t get to see this book to fruition: I won’t quit, Mama! You were my greatest cheerleader and prayer warrior, my greatest motivator, and the one who loved me first and believed in me first and longer than anyone. I pray that you are able to look down on the fruit that you always believed would come to pass. I will never quit trying to be the sunshine for others that you taught me to be. I love you!

Also, a special dedication to two wonderful ladies that believed in me and the message I had for others. Ms. Lillian Wilknes, I pray you also are looking down to see what the Lord has done, just like you said.

And last but not least, Ms. Ruth Oswalt, you encouraged me and prayed fervently for me and my writing. Thank you for listening to and loving my stories. Thank you for all your wisdom and encouragement and for having great faith in me.

Thank you, Dalton, for your amazing artwork you gave to my book. You took my vision and far exceeded my expectation for the cover image. Thank you, Sierra and Steven, for your awesome artwork as well. Your talents are very appreciated. Thank you, Emily, for the great photos you took and those that you had taken for me. Thank you, my Aria Rose, for the beautiful, colorful diamond you made for me.

Without extreme pressure and heat over long periods of time, the coal would never produce the most beautiful diamond. - Me

Introduction

As I look at this blank page, I wonder at the fact that, without anything written on it, it really isn’t worth anything. What is written on it depends on its worth. How much pressure that could be for an author! Oh, but how much grace can my Father give? The worth also depends on whom the reader is and what is written. If something is written about geometry or anything of that matter, it’s worthless to me. It is the only subject that I ever failed in school. I think that it is because I could never really get interested in it. So, I have my own little equation here:

Blank paper = worthless

Important to reader = priceless

Important to author = priceless

Unimportant to reader = worthless

Unimportant to author = worthless

I have known I was supposed to write since I was a child. I was in second or third grade when I wrote my first poem and got recognized for doing a good job. When I was writing, I wasn’t necessarily doing it for the accolades of my classmates, teachers, or even my parents. It just came naturally to me. The words just came out of my mind and flowed upon the paper. I found out later that my writing would be my first therapist. I just always felt better after writing.

As a young woman, I really got close to