An Ultimatum for God

By Sheryl Messina

At times it is easy to doubt God’s presence—even his very existence. For Sheryl Messina, after watching her father suffer terribly from cancer and die just after selling his business to start enjoying life, her faith in God plummeted. She had grown up being told that God loves everyone and has a grand plan, but this didn’t seem like a wonderful plan by a loving God.
In An Ultimatum for God, author Sheryl Messina shares her soul-searching journey from anger and rejection of God to knowing his true existence. After her father’s death, Sheryl’s weakened faith even further diminishes when graphic, horrific nightmares arrive and then continue for months, each one more frightening and disturbing than the previous one. The unceasing assault of nightmares and her feelings of abandonment led Sheryl to her breaking point, when she screamed out to God to show up—or else she would be done with him forever.
But God’s response was astounding! And by following Sheryl on her journey and exploring your own doubts and faith, you too can discover God’s presence in your life and find an appreciation for how his plan is always a plan of love and hope, even when our lives seem lonely and hopeless.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 28, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973650393

Sheryl Messina

Sheryl Messina grew up in Westchester County, New York, with all the traditions and idiosyncrasies of living with a hardworking middle-class Italian American family. An Ultimatum for God is the first of four times in her life that God physically or vividly appeared, letting her know his true existence and power. She is passionate about the message that God is real and that we always need to have faith, even in times of doubt. Sheryl currently lives on Long Island, New York, with her three children: Kristen, Alison, and Danielle. To learn more about Sheryl’s journey, her message, and other works, visit her Blog: YourOwnTrueBEAT.com and her Website: SherylMessina.com

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Copyright © 2019 Sheryl Messina.

Interior Image Credit: Sheryl Keane

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.

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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.

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.

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Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-5038-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-5039-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019900188

WestBow Press rev. date: 01/28/2019

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

To God:

Thank You for the wonderful gift of knowing Your love and power.

To Dad:

You will continue to be cherished in my heart until we are reunited.

To All Skeptics of the Divine:

I plead you to let go and to believe. Trust that you were created by a power far greater than you, a power who is in control and works in your life according to your faith.

Chapter 1

M Y FATHER DIED ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2003. I got the call at 1:30 a.m. and immediately awoke when I saw my mom’s number on caller ID. My heart was racing as I reached for the phone because I knew this meant bad news. I trembled. Hello?

On the other end, however, my greeting was returned with a click, followed by a dial tone.

Ugh! I muttered and quickly called her back.

My mom’s voice was cracking as she said, He … hello.

I first asked her why she hung up on me because the answer to that question was easier to hear than the answer to, How’s Dad?

I don’t know! she wailed. Although she was crying, I clearly detected annoyance in her voice for asking that question. So I just waited for her to get her words out.

As I listened, I could vividly picture my mom in the small, dimly lit hospital room, sitting next to my dad’s bed on that mustard-colored vinyl chair. She was sobbing and trying to catch her breath, and I heard both desperation and disbelief in her voice.

Then she managed to cry out, Sheryl, Daddy’s gone … he’s gone! Those hollow words will forever ring in my mind.

I made my way to the den, curled up in the oversized chair, and cried for hours. I purposely stayed awake and waited for the sunrise because it always brings me a sense of inner peace and renewed hope. But on that morning, the slow-moving, twisting pinks and blues did not do their job. My head-to-toe numbness was not consoled.

When my three young girls woke up, I didn’t know how to tell them that their grandfather had gone to heaven, so I did my best to keep my composure and get them off to school.

Making the wake and funeral arrangements later that morning with my mom, brother, and sister was surreal. My brother drove us to the funeral parlor. We were quiet on the ride and when we walked into the building. It was as if we were on autopilot, going through the motions.

As we waited for the funeral director, Mike became very silent and focused, similar to how he gets on a plane when motion sickness begins creeping in. If Michelle or I tried