The Spiritual Heart of a Single Woman

By Marvene Y. Young

A spiritual heart! What is it? How can one discover it? Ive always had a spiritual heart! God has been right by my side, strengthening and helping me. I thank God for knocking at my hearts door and waiting for me to open it. Jesus is the best thing thats happened to me. Is He knocking at your heart? There will be joys and sorrows. We can learn and grow from them or harbor hurt and anger. The Spiritual Heart of a Single Woman expresses that no matter where youve been or where youre going God will provide! The Spiritual Heart of a Single Woman walks through the journey of a single woman whose plans were redirected through tragedy, by self-interference, and by Gods intervention. You will laugh, cry, and hopefully, see parts of your own life. One will learn how to be a survivor with Gods help. Are you at the crossroads? Do you know which road to take? Read The Spiritual Heart of a Single Woman as it will help to develop and rediscover your spiritual heart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 18, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512726695

Marvene Y. Young

Marvene Young is a woman who loves God! She is a Certified Lay Minister and very active in other ministries in her church. Marvene has one son and a nephew who is like a son. She enjoys speaking at events, writing, and teaching. Marvene loves leisure time with family and friends. She has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Computer Science and a Master’s of Arts degree in Management and Leadership. Marvene is currently seeking a Master’s in Christian Ministry, Evangelism, and Planting. Marvene spends many hours leading and working on projects. While she enjoys leading projects, Marvene realizes to lead well one must also follow. God is the perfect leader, and she chooses to follow Him!

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Copyright © 2016 Marvene Y. Young.

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.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

Scripture taken from the Amplified Bible, copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

WestBow Press

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-2670-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2671-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2669-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016900667

WestBow Press rev. date: 02/18/2016

Contents

Purpose

Acknowledgments

Special Thank-You

Chapter 1 The Fairytale Begins

Chapter 2 It’s Not All True; Don’t Believe the Hype!

Chapter 3 Me and the Rest of the World

Chapter 4 Developing a Spiritual Heart

Chapter 5 It’s Not My Plan

Chapter 6 My Body Is Screaming!

Chapter 7 The Strength of a Tiger

Chapter 8 What’s Wrong with Me?

Chapter 9 What Do You Want Me to Do?

Chapter 10 It’s in My Heart

Chapter 11 Let Go, and Let God

Chapter 12 The Strong Woman Survived—I’m Fine!

References

This book is dedicated to my sister, Michele Renay Young, and my brother, Edmond Grafton Young Jr.

Even though you’re gone away,

I still remember you every day.

Whether it’s sunny, windy, rainy, or blue,

My mind is constantly focused on you.

You’re better off now because you’re gone with God;

I know you’re at peace, but your loss is still hard.

Every now and then, tears fall from my eyes,

But I think of the memories, and then I sigh.

I love you, I miss you, and I always will.

There’s a place in my heart that no one can fill.

I’ll be listening for your names in heaven; I’m sure they’ll sound off like a bell.

Thank you, Jesus, for giving me my siblings, Edmond and Michele.

Purpose

This book is written for women and men, from teenagers to the elderly. The goal of The Spiritual Heart of a Single Woman is to let folks know that Jesus will meet them where they are. I talk a lot about the good, bad, and very personal experiences that have happened in my life that helped me to grow in Christ. God put this book in my heart more than five years ago, and I am excited and happy to be able to share it with you. I hope you take heart, listen, and enjoy what God wants me to share with you. I pray this book encourages everyone; especially those who feel like I did.

The Spiritual Heart of a Single Woman will keep you surprised, laughing, sighing, and crying. It will make you think, and it may even cause you to judge; however, we know that God is the only true judge. So if my situations can help someone else escape, teach someone, and keep someone from having to endure what I endured … Here am I, Lord; send me. Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ (Isaiah 6:8 NIV)

It’s my duty to share. Thank You, God, for affording me the opportunity to worship and praise Your name. Lord, You are holy and worthy, and I bow down and surrender to Your will. Amen.

Acknowledgments

I would like to first thank God for the experiences that He has allowed me to go through and for giving me the courage to open up and share where I was, where I am, and what I’m striving to be.

I would like to thank my parents, Edmond Sr. and Margaret Young, who are always there for me through thick and thin. No matter what I need, my parents are always there to help me. I thank my son, Malik, whom I love dearly and who has been my life for the past twenty-two years. To my nephew, Stephan, whom I love like my very own; and to my sister Markia Young, who edited the book, is a great listener, and always gave me an avenue to see things from a different perspective—thank you both. Thanks also to my cousin Wanda McNeil, who helped with editing, loves me unconditionally, and will do anything for me.

Thanks to Nancy Smallwood, Jasmine Adams and Jessica Johnson, who also helped edit and critique this book. To Russell and Barbara Young, my godparents, who are always there for me; and to my cousins Helen, Ronnell, and LaVonya, who have been there for me since I can remember—thanks to you all.

I would also like to thank Damilola Odetola for taking the author photo and Milton Contreras for resizing some of the pictures. Thanks to my former pastor, Robert L. Johnson, who inspires me to be who God wants me to be, encourages me, and helped me to grow spiritually while under his ministry. Thanks also to Rev. Mable Smith for being a beacon of light throughout my life.

To all my family members, Pastor Doris Rothwell & Mr. Felton Rothwell, and my church family, thanks for all you do. To Pamela Brooks and Dionna Ricks, who are my best friends and the ones who tell me like it is even if it puts me in tears—I love you girls. A special thanks to Shawn Estelle and Carla Adams for encouraging me to finish the book. Shawn would not let me make any excuses for not finishing the book, and Carla made me write even when I didn’t have the fight in me to do it. My heartfelt thanks goes out to you!

Special Thank-You

I would like to say a special thank-you to Gary Anthony McNeil II for the cover design. I would also like to thank JR Creek (Jcreekdesigns) for the graphic work on the cover. Thanks also go out again to Gary Anthony McNeil II and Cameron Thomas for all the artwork in each chapter. Thanks, guys; I could not have done it without you.

Love you,

Marvene

Chapter 1

The Fairytale Begins

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

—Genesis 2:7 NKJV

TheFairytalebegins.jpg

All I’ve ever wanted was to graduate from high school, get married, have kids, have a big house, and have a good job! Does this sound like what most American women want? Well, I thought that too! It’s not necessarily true though. There are all types of dreams of average women. Some women do not want kids, some do not want to get married, and some only want to pursue careers. The men—most really do not think in the same direction as women do in their earlier years.

By nature, women are more emotional and think about the nurturing experiences, such as marriage and taking care of kids, but men are more concerned about their toys, such as cars, work, and providing. However, there are some men who dream of marriage as well. None of the thinking is bad; sometimes thoughts are perpetuated by the way one grows up. It’s a new age, a new time, and thinking is unpredictable!

When I was about four or five