Beyond the Rainbow

By Patricia A. Copperwheat

Beyond the Rainbow takes you on the spiritual journey of Dorthea, an introverted preteen who lacks identity and purpose. In infancy, Dortheas unprepared grandparents were called upon to raise her after the death of her parents. As Dorthea grows older she escapes into her own imaginary world, allowing no other significant relationships except for her dog. An unexpected threat of losing her canine friend causes her structured world to shatter, forcing her to seek a solution and pursue some unanswered questions.

The journey is launched through a lifelike dream, where Dorthea experiences new trials, tribulations, and encounters. She is taken to the imaginary Land of Indecision where evil curses and deception place the inhabitants into bondage. As she meets the characters in her dream, to include a raggedy man, lumberjack, and scaredy- cat, her true identity emerges. A new heart, wisdom, and courage surface.

As wicked forces come against Dorthea, she flees from the Land of Indecision to the Land of Promises in pursuit of a new purpose and destiny. A supernatural encounter opens a door to Heaven and turns the key to Dortheas heart. Dorthea discovers the place Beyond the Rainbow where her Heavenly Father reigns. His promises of hope, life, and purpose are revealed. As she awakens from her dream, another journey begins with new relationships, opportunities, and revelation beyond what she could ever imagine.

The invitation to this place is open to all. If you ask, it will be given to you. If you seek, you will find it. If you knock, it will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7).

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 29, 2015
• ISBN: 9781512712933

Patricia A. Copperwheat

After higher education and a successful career in public service, Patricia pursued her true calling by sharing the Gospel through jail, nursing home, teen, and prayer ministry. She purposed Beyond the Rainbow to encourage youth to seek God, and to pursue the purpose and plan He has created uniquely for each. Patricia’s birthplace, Oneida County, New York, is also that of the Second Great Awakening. God inspired Evangelist Charles Finney and Intercessor Daniel Nash to become catalysts for a great social reform movement in America. The duo moved on to other counties and states winning an estimated half a million souls for Christ. Her passion is for a “Third Awakening”, releasing mighty demonstrations of God’s glory.

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 Patricia A. Copperwheat.

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 author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

All Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 [phone]

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.

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.

ISBN: 978-1-5127-1292-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-1294-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-1293-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015915156

WestBow Press rev. date: 09/29/2015

Contents

Note from the Author

Preface

Acknowledgment

Chapter 1 Dorthea and Family

Chapter 2 Remembering the Past

Chapter 3 The End of a Season

Chapter 4 A New Heartache

Chapter 5 A Perfect Storm

Chapter 6 The Journey Begins

Chapter 7 A Witch and the Smallkins

Chapter 8 The Tree of Life

Chapter 9 The Raggedy Man

Chapter 10 The Lumberjack

Chapter 11 A Big Scaredy-Cat and the King of the Forest

Chapter 12 The Warning

Chapter 13 A Special Mission

Chapter 14 The Flying Vultures

Chapter 15 The River

Chapter 16 The Land of Promises and a Glimpse of Heaven

Chapter 17 New Life

Chapter 18 Returning Home

To all of my grandchildren, to those in His presence, to those we are blessed to have in our presence, and to those that are still just a thought in His head. May His purpose and will for each of their lives bring their dreams and His promises into reality. I pray that their generation live lovingly, wisely, and courageously for Him and that His glory shine radiantly through each of them.

Note from the Author

D ORTHEA GOES BEYOND THE Rainbow , to a higher place, when her little world becomes shattered by the threat of losing her dog and best friend. Through a dream, Dorthea embarks on a spiritual journey that ultimately reveals her gifts (heart, brains, courage), as well as her true identity, desires, purpose, and destiny. After surviving numerous trials and tribulations, a new faith emerges, and her heart opens for a supernatural encounter. She is transitioned into a new life, where His promises and her dreams come true. A unique, individualized spiritual journey is available to everyone, designed to help us find our predestined plan and purpose. May you be blessed in the pursuit of yours.

Preface

W ELCOME TO A STORY of familiar characters, plot, and theme but very different in setting, outcome, and perspective. As you read, let the eyes and ears of your understanding be opened to a new dimension, a spiritual one. Let Beyond the Rainbow take you to the place where promises and dreams come true. Invite God, the Creator of miracles, signs, and wonders to become part of your life and to take you on a supernatural journey.

The spirits of the young are open and innocent. For this reason the young are receptive to fairy tales, magic, and superheroes. Parents often introduce these things to offer an alternative to or a protection from, the realities of a sometimes harsh world. Unfortunately, tales, magic, and superheroes do not provide a foundation of truth or knowledge to combat the challenges that children will face in their teen years.

Trials and tribulations are inevitable, even for those fortunate enough to have a conflict-free childhood. Challenges manifest through many avenues: identity issues, physical changes, social pressure, and life-altering situations and events. The fallout from these challenges can result in confusion, discouragement, depression, anger, and ultimately rebellion. The outcome can cause us to become lost in the world, to search unsuccessfully for answers, and to use destructive coping mechanisms to temporarily ease the pain.

By introducing truth and faith at an early age, unnecessary hardship and hopelessness in the future can be avoided. By knowing God’s love and the path He has designed to find Him, wrong choices and heartache can be replaced with faith, peace, joy, knowledge, and equipping for the battles ahead. He can guide us away from the wrong things, the wrong people, the wrong answers, and the wrong places at the wrong time. God is real, and He has a good plan and a purpose for every person. Each of us was uniquely and wonderfully made and He knows every intimate detail about us, even the number of hairs on our head. He loves us unconditionally and understands our pain. He promises direction, strength, an expected end, and to fulfill the desires of our hearts as we follow Him. When we accept His open invitation, we have access to Him and His Kingdom. He can make a happy ending to any story, including YOURS.

Acknowledgment

T HANK YOU TO MY beloved children, Lee and Andrea, for their encouragement in writing this book and for fulfilling the blessings they were created to be in my life. They are truly gifts from above.

Thank You to Jesus, my Lord, my Savior, my Creator, my Deliverer, my Redeemer, my Healer, my Provider, my Rock, my Fortress, my Teacher, my Guide, my Comforter, and my Friend. You are my inspiration to share with others how their lives may be impacted as they open up their hearts and let You in.

CHAPTER 1

Dorthea and Family

I AM DORTHEA. I VIEW myself as plain, kind of like a plain Jane. Sometimes I get comments on my long thick brown hair, big eyes, freckles, dimples, and turned-up nose. There is the possibility that these traits make me unique and I am not as plain as I think. Gramps says there is no one else in the world like me. Although he tells me that because he is my grandpa and loves me, it really is true. In fact, it’s true for everyone. In school I learned that our genes, fingerprints, and blood are all unique. God even knows the number of hairs on our head. After each of us was made, the mold was broken. Sometimes I just wish the mold could have had a little more clay in some places and a little less in others.

It will not be long until I become a teenager. How did this happen so quickly? Getting older has its advantages and disadvantages. The obvious advantage is that you have more freedom. A disadvantage is that you have to start figuring things out for yourself and begin making your own decisions. You never know what life is going to bring your way. It is kind of like opening a box of chocolates. I hope for the chocolates with the cherry center, but I seem to end up with the caramels and nuts. This leaves me with two choices. I can stop eating chocolates, or I can keep waiting for the ones with the cherry center. I like candy too much to stop eating it, so I just keep waiting for the cherries.

I live with my grandparents. They are my only relatives. My parents died when I was a baby. I don’t know a lot about them. Grandma and Gramps rarely speak of them anymore. When they do, I can see the tears form in the corners of their eyes. It is because of the accident. My parents never recovered from it. My grandparents never did either, but in a different kind of way. I have learned not to ask them questions anymore. Although I would like to know more, the memories seem to be too painful for them. So I keep my parents alive in my own way. I have a heart-shaped locket that belonged to my mother. It is gold and has pretty etching around it. I keep it around my neck at all times so that it doesn’t get lost. It makes me feel close to her just knowing that it was hers. Because the locket was a gift to her from my father, I can feel close to him too.

My very best friend in the whole world is my little terrier dog, MoJo. I do not know what I would do without him. He is the first face I see in the morning and the last face I see at night. I look forward to the mornings because I know he’s going to be there. I look forward to coming home from school for the same reason. MoJo is always there for me. When I am sad, so is he. When I am happy, MoJo is happy too! I have his back covered, and he has mine. That’s why he is my best friend.

We live in a small city, Rome, in the very center of New York. Gramps says it was once a great place with a rich history. He said many years ago there was a thing called the Second Great Awakening that was birthed here. It was a spiritual thing that woke the people up. I picture it in my mind like a big alarm clock. People started thinking about things other than just themselves. Gramps said this awakening moved across the state and then the country. It led to big changes in our country and people began to fight against things like slavery, poverty, alcoholism, and many other things that were not considered good. People reached out to others needing help, like orphans, widows, handicapped, poor, and those that were ill. I do not understand it all, but it if