Like Unto a Kaleidoscope

By A Broken Seashell and Sea Glass

For those of you who may remember the story from the Bible of the prodigal son, some of the chapters in this book may stir your memory to recall that parable. Then again, maybe some of you have led similar lives, as did this author. Whether either of the above or not, your emotions will be touched by reading and sharing the experiences of the life of the author, from young childhood on into the senior years, as you read this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 23, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512763843

A Broken Seashell

This author is Southern born and bred, and her way with the Southern brogue is unique. She is forever optimistic for the brighter side of things, for everything in everyday life is a matter of fact. She is always hopeful, even when doubts try to creep in. Things were not always happy or easy in her younger years, yet even then, she was hopeful, as you will read in her book. She exhibits her style and her humor with genteel “down home” fashion, all the while giving God all the glory.

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Copyright © 2016 A Broken Seashell and Sea Glass.

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 quotes are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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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.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-6385-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-6386-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-6384-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016918888

WestBow Press rev. date: 11/22/2016

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1: There’s A Beginning In Here Somewhere………

Chapter 2: Early Elementary Years

Chapter 3: The Year of The Orphanage and After

Chapter 4: Better Times Are A’comin’….

Chapter 5: Watch Out, Child…..

Chapter 6: Steep Curves Ahead!……..

Chapter 7: Cliff – Hanger?!?………..

Chapter 8: Be Careful! Don’t Go There!……..

Chapter 9: It’s Not Over Yet……

Chapter 10: Please talk To ME, Child……

Chapter 11: Can’t You Hear ME?…….

Chapter 12: You Will Find ME Waiting…….

Chapter 13: Didn’t I Tell You?…….

Chapter 14: We Will Always Have Hurdles And Pain……..

Chapter 15: And Sometimes More Responsibilities Than We Bargained For…….

Chapter 16: Oh! What An Awesome God We Serve!…….

Chapter 17: He’s Not Done With Us Until ……..

Conclusion

Epilog

Dedication

I dedicate this book first and foremost, to our Creator God, for without Whom we would not be, period.

I dedicate this book to all who read its pages, and may you hear the still small voice of our heavenly Father.

I wish to dedicate this book to my children, each and every one of you, and I wish each of you all the love your hearts can ever hold…..most of all I wish for you to come into God’s saving grace, know forgiveness, and home in His house one day.

And now I give any and all to our God’s saving grace to comfort, heal, bring peace to, direct and protect all who read this book, may you know the peace, love and complete forgiveness that only He can give and may you be encouraged and strengthened in His great Love.

God’s blessings, everyone.

Epigraph

Couldn’t one of the definitions of love be: I forgive?

Preface

I have been sewing since I was nine years old; it is a God given talent. I even made my living through my knowledge of sewing for a while at one time in my life. When it came to a point that I needed a more substantial income, I had to get outside work, so I sought work in the clothing manufacturing field. The difference there is that the industry requires quantity, whereas a professional requires and delivers quality. But all of the above notes of employment came after my years of other, less notable in God’s eyes, ways of making a living; as one of my children put it many years ago, back in (my) bar-hood days/years.

None-the-less, twice in my life I worked in a garment factory, the first was a manufacturer of men’s and women’s pajamas, which was located in Ashford, Alabama during the 1990’s; the second garment factory manufactured men’s and women’s blue-jeans, located in Opp, Alabama, not too much later after the first. It was while at the first that I came to know what the title of a book would be should I ever write ‘a book’; this is how it came to be……..

The building had been in operation since the 1950’s, and so many places in it were already quite well worn. All throughout the building were very large overhead fluorescent light fixtures, and at the location of my work station one day the light overhead began to cast shadows on everything around my work area and different parts of the garments I was working on began to take on different colors all of a sudden for some strange reason. I looked up and saw the problem, the bulbs were beginning to go out; in other words the mercury and the argon gases that make the fluorescent bulb work were now old and losing the ability to produce the light, but now the set of bulbs looked like they contained grey storm clouds that were swirling around over my head inside that bulb, but at the same time somehow were also casting different colors onto the fabrics I was sewing on, when suddenly I remembered looking into a kaleidoscope only once when I was a child.

Long before my time of working in the garment industry, my mother was frequently impressed with my way with words, pen and paper; and told me that I should write a book about our family; she continued, it would be a hit, maybe even on TV, and be better ‘n Dallas. ……. Aw-w-w, I don’t hardly think so", I answered her.

All through the years I have toyed around with and pondered on the thoughts of maybe bringing my mother’s suggestion into play, not a ‘book about our family’ per se, but one of my life en general.

My adult life muddled on from a very prodigal life-style, until one day I found myself on my knees tasting the ultimate bitterness of a broken and contrite heart and asking for forgiveness; …….then later on into my senior years finding happiness and marriage with a wonderful man…. who I would later, after just a precious few years together with him, wound up taking care of as though he were a baby again. So now, since the death of my husband, my heart-song, after he had been gone about three months, while in my quiet time one morning, I asked the Lord to let me hear his instructions for whatever he has for me now. There in my stillness and the silence, almost audibly, came three words, It is time. I don’t know exactly what the Holy Spirit meant, for the Lord doesn’t always explain exactly what He means, we are just supposed to act on faith. I wondered if He meant this book, or did maybe He mean He is going to bring me home soon, or that my home and land, my ‘for sale property’ will sell soon … what? I didn’t know, He didn’t say….. but I began to write.

There is going to be trials and tribulations until Jesus returns, there’s just no way to get through life without it; sometimes though, it just seems to come in big bunches. But our heavenly Father has promised never to allow any more on us than we can bear alone. And I have been standing on His promises for many a year now. I have a motto, if I may call it that, He ain’t brought me this far to drop me now, He’ll carry me all the way!

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank our heavenly Father who has blessed me in so many ways, the writing of this book being just one of those.

I wish to acknowledge and thank my parents, my children, and many family members as well as my many friends, whether deceased or living, who have played a part in the pages of this book.

I thank all of my church family and friends who have had a part in support of this writing.

I thank Westbow Press Publisher’s and all of its team members for ushering me forward in this endeavor.

God’s blessings, everyone.

Introduction

I am a native Alabamian, Southern born and bred. I was from a broken home life at a very young age, even from my toddler years; my parents tried to stay together, but it simply would not happen, possibly because of the large number of years my father was older than my mother.

Almost a full year of my early childhood was spent in an orphanage, myself and my two brothers at the time, which was due to my father having a sudden, almost fatal heart attack. My father was a man of simple means, who with only a third grade education, left home and hearth to go to work to help his family due to the Great Depression Era, went to work as a plumber to learn his trade, and working his way in the field to eventually becoming a master plumber. But he was a Godly man. He was left to raise his three children alone, which he strove very hard to do.

I came to salvation and faith in the Lord at the young and tender age of nine. But I did indeed stray as I grew into my teen years from God’s guidance, I let go of His faithfulness, and direction in my life. It was a very long, hard and desperate struggle; followed by decades of being misguided through my own choices.

But I did return to God’s abiding love and grace; finding peace in forgiveness; God’s forgiveness, the forgiveness of others and just as important, forgiveness of myself and in my own past failures.

I have always tried to look for and find the brighter side of any given situation in life, especially when I am engaged in conversation with anyone……for instance, if the power goes out, we can always light a candle and make our own entertainment; if your ink runs out, you can always get a pencil; and my always ready answer to any ache, woe, sickness, etc., it’s gonna get better; and/or it’s gonna be awright. J J

Now granted, I wasn’t in that frame of mind for a lot of the years mentioned above and in the pages of this book, but God has a really neat way of bringing us up and over the hurdles…..just check out Romans 8:28; and Psalm 40: 1-3

The following pages are parts of the story of my life.

Chapter One

There’s A Beginning In Here Somewhere………

While at work one glorious afternoon in early autumn during an electrical power outage, two ladies soothed some of their curiosities about me by including me in conversation, seeing as I was a newcomer to their area.

This work-place was a sewing factory; the manufacturing of different brands of blue-jeans, and was located in southern Alabama. Soon, with the power restored, the break bell sounded, we left our undone tasks and those of us who were not smokers filed into the break room. It was a fairly good-sized room with about three wooden picnic type tables with benches built onto them. Some of us sat at the tables, some simply stood around, because most of us had a job which required sitting down. Some of us would bring snacks and beverage along with us from home; some went to the snack and beverage machines. The breaks were to last twenty minutes; the break bell would sound, then five minutes to get back to our designated work stations. The two ladies had questions for me; my answers to some of their questions were that, (a) I am single; (b) I own only one major appliance, and (c) I had come from another small town after completing my mission there and was here for the same purpose.

In response to my ‘mission’, one lady asked me if I was a missionary, not in so many words, I go the way the Lord leads me, as should all Christians, I told her. With hearing that the appliance I