The Advent Tree: An Inspirational Memoir

By Susan Rosser

Growing up in a loving family, Susan Rosser’s path for her Christian walk was first cleared by her parents and grandmother. They knew the importance of spending private time in prayer and studying God’s Word. They led by example, imparting a foundation of faith and values to their children.

In The Advent Tree, Susan offers a touching memoir that speaks of her bucolic life as a youth and the spiritual path that followed. Sharing an intimate retrospective of the lessons learned and her relationship with her father, she explains the way ministry was imbued into the lives of her family members.

Susan recounts how her faith unlocked the power of God’s love and transformed her life into one of uplifting hope and joy. She opens her heart and exposes the deeply personal events that led her on a journey of discovery. In The Advent Tree, she connects the people and experiences of her life to the purest essence of love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 18, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973617358

Susan Rosser

Born in Los Angeles, Massman moved with her family to Reno, Nevada to be closer to her father's two casinos-one in Reno and the other in Lake Tahoe. Living in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Massman's natural athletic abilities led her to snow skiing, barrel racing her palomino, water skiing and golf. She spent a semester of her junior year in high school in Gstaad, Switzerland, where she became fluent in French and raced on her school's ski team. After attending college in Colorado and transferring to Boston University, Massman graduated with a B.S. in Communications and went to work for a Hollywood public relations firm, and then a theatrical agency. Jumping to "the other side" in 1984, Massman co-authored the New York Times best seller, Fling, with Pamela Beck. A few years later, in 1989, they wrote Rich Men, Single Women, which was made into an ABC movie-of-the-week and produced by Aaron Spelling. The following year Massman and Rosser co-authored Just Desserts, and began their nine-year journey to Betrayed.Massman, a volunteer for Children of the Night, a shelter for sexually exploited children, divides her time between Los Angeles and Telluride, Colorado. Massman, like Rosser, has two grown children who help keep her sane.

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Copyright © 2018 Susan Rosser.

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.

Interior Art Credit: Susan Rosser

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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.

Excerpt(s) from A Daily Journey Through Psalms for Women, copyright © 2013 by Worthy Inspired. Used by permission of Worthy Inspired, an imprint of Worthy Publishing Group, a division of Worthy Media, Inc. One Franklin Park, 6100 Tower Circle, Suite 210, Franklin, TN 37067. All rights reserved.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-1734-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-1735-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018909728

WestBow Press rev. date: 09/10/2018

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CONTENTS

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Prologue

1 Secrets

2 His Shadow

3 A Firm Foundation

4 Alex’s Lake

5 For the Love of Children

6 The Long Goodbye

7 Pick of the Litter

8 Shattered

9 The Reason

Epilogue

About the author

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With love, to my family and to the memory of my daddy, McHenry Ayers.

He, along with my mother, Florene, and my grandmother

first cleared the path for my Christian walk.

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With special acknowledgment and gratitude

to Glenda for her unexpected generosity.

Rest in peace, sweet friend.

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You alone know my heart and my prayer, Father.

PROLOGUE

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Mom, why do you have pictures of a tree on your phone? Kelly asked.

Our family had gathered together to celebrate Christmas, and the question caught me off guard. For a minute, my mind was taken aback, startled by the revelation. Then, just as quickly, it sprang back to awareness, bringing with it the treasured memory of being back at the tree where the dampness of the cool air tingled my face and the scent of rain hung loosely in the air. It had been a year since I had taken those pictures—one whole year.

I hesitated for several seconds before uttering a word, allowing my mind time to process the scope of my reply:

There is a story there.

The words seeped from my lips, barely more than a whisper, as my fingers knowingly stroked the familiar band of sleek, polished silver that lay caressing my wrist.

She glanced at me quizzically, but when I failed to elaborate, she said nothing more and instead bent her head to focus again on the illuminated screen. Tap, tap, tap went the sound of her fingernail against the glass as she tapped each picture, magnifying the details of each image as it emerged from its long hibernation; all the while, absorbed in the pictures, she was oblivious to the fact that by asking that one simple question, the wheels had been set in motion.

December 25, 2016

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SECRETS

I know more than my share of secrets. Some have been told to me in hushed tones by friends and family members, but many—because of the nature of my job—have been revealed to me by complete strangers. Throughout the years, individuals have ventured into my office, inadvertently releasing more information to me than was necessary—and thus, more secrets. Just as a slight shift in the snow collects speed and volume before transforming into an avalanche, so are the sometimes private and unsolicited bits of information I receive at my workplace. What may begin as a simple statement or offhand remark quickly