Letters to My Father

By Crissie Ann Leonard

Forty-three-year-old Wiletta Jayne is a God-loving woman in the midst of a spiritual drought. Her strong relationship with God has been disrupted by her chaotic lifestyle, and she feels lonely and lost. She decides to take some time off from work and visit the beach, where she hopes to reconnect with God’s voice.

On the way, Wiletta feels a strong pull to visit a garage sale, where she finds a small stack of letters for sale. Knowing they are meant for her, she buys them and begins reading through them while on her vacation. In the letters, Wiletta discovers personal stories of despair, loneliness, joy, and more. God then instructs her to find the authors of the letters, so she reaches out to her best friend, Faith, who is a private investigator. Together, Wiletta and Faith set out to find these people, help them to know God’s love, and heal their hearts so they can seek him again.

This novel tells the story of a woman led by God to a collection of letters written by strangers and the journey she takes with a friend to find and help the letters’ authors.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 26, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973675082

Crissie Ann Leonard

Crissie Ann Leonard is an accounting associate at a nonprofit firm who has loved literature since she could read. Building on that love and on her personal experiences, she has spent the last decade writing novels based on life, faith, growth, and healing. Her great loves are God; her cat, Smokey; her family; and Chewbacca from Star Wars. She lives in Ohio with her family.

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 Crissie Ann Leonard.

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.

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

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 Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-7509-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-7510-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-7508-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019914495

WestBow Press rev. date: 09/25/2019

To

anyone who has ever asked God a question and struggled to find peace in the answer

Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and the thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see the greatness within you, even when you don’t see it yourself.

—Edmund Lee, author

Contents

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Chapter 1    The Letters

Chapter 2    Seeking Faith

Chapter 3    The Journey Begins

Chapter 4    Katerina

Chapter 5    Cristina

Chapter 6    Zachary

Chapter 7    Adam

Epilogue

About the Author

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I want to thank God for saving me. His purpose met my pain, and he gave me the strength and courage to chase my dream. God showed me that he was bigger than any doubts I had about being worthy of that dream.

I want to thank my mom, Kathie. She taught me that sometimes you must sacrifice in order to chase your dream, but the dream worth chasing is worth the sacrifice.

I want to thank my sister, Carrie, and her husband, Gino. They taught me to never give up on your dream, no matter how long it takes you to achieve it.

I want to thank my friend, Anne Pirhalla. She taught me to believe in myself, even when the obstacles seem impossible to overcome.

I want to thank my best friends, Meghan Roll and Marilyn Howard, for taking time out of their lives to help me achieve my dream. They believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. They saw the oak tree where I only saw the acorn. Without them, this book would never have happened.

Last, I want to thank my church, Simple Church, in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. They gave me a place to call home. Through their teachings and friendships, I discovered my purpose and found the confidence to finish this book.

Prologue

Sandbridge Beach, Sandbridge, Virginia

May 25, 2015

My name is Wiletta Jayne. I’m a forty-three-year-old, peace-and-tranquility beach-lover, trapped inside a city girl. I’ve always taken pride in having a strong relationship with God, my heavenly Father. It was the one constant in my life. We talked daily, and I felt safe in his arms and surrounded by his love.

Lately, my chaotic lifestyle has monopolized my life, to the point that I no longer have time to nurture that relationship. Now, I feel lonely and lost. My drive and passion have dimmed, but mostly I miss his presence in my life.

I longed to hear his voice again, so I took some time off work, with the intent of devoting more time to him. I told him how much I missed him and that I hoped he would meet me at the beach in a few days. I loaded my car, put the top down, and started out on my journey to the beach. I knew the feel of the sun on my face, sand in my toes, and the privacy and quietness of the beach was just what I needed.

I was singing along with my favorite songs, about halfway to the beach, when I felt a sudden urge to take the exit I saw up ahead of me. As I neared the exit, the urge grew stronger. I knew something important must be there, so I turned onto the exit. As I sat at the stop sign at the end of the exit road, I wondered which way to go. Then I saw it—a small garage-sale sign. I smiled, recalling memories of my best friend, Faith, and me, driving around, looking for these signs.

I drove a mile or so until I found the sale. As I approached it, trying to decide where to begin, a small table in the back caught my eye—and I knew with absolute certainty that the stack of letters on the corner of the table was meant for me.

No one there seemed to know where they’d come from, but I was drawn to them. I purchased the letters and a small basket to carry them and started back on the road to the beach. Throughout the remainder of the drive, I kept glancing at the letters, wondering what purpose they had on my journey. I made it to the beach house, unpacked the car, ate some dinner, and fell into a deep, restful sleep.

Chapter 1

THE LETTERS

I awoke the next morning to a familiar voice saying, Good morning, daughter. I see you found the letters.

Relief and affirmation filled me. My Father did meet me here at the beach house, and the letters were meant for me to find. I quickly dressed and had breakfast—eggs, bacon, and a steaming cup of tea. Then, picking up the basket, I went out onto the back porch.

The rocker I sat in faced the ocean. The sun was up, the sky empty of clouds, and for a few minutes, I simply rocked and enjoyed the sound of the waves and seagulls. Closing my eyes, my prayer was simple: Thank you.

I turned my attention to the basket on the stool next to me. With butterflies in my stomach, I opened the top letter and found it was printed on lined grade-school paper.

Hi, I’m Joseph, and my mom and I need some help. My mom works all the time. I know she needs to work so we can live in our apartment and have food on our table, but I miss her. I’m only seven and am too young to work to help Mom pay the bills.

Can you send some help to my mom so I can see her more?

Could you send me a friend so I won’t be so lonely?

Joseph

I carefully refolded Joseph’s letter and placed it in its envelope.

The next letter was written on cheap stationery. The script was a tiny scrawl and difficult to read.

Why have you done this to me again? This is the fourth time! I just want someone to love, to give the joy I never knew as a child!

Do you know the pain and anger I feel? Eight months this time. I felt her move, heard her heartbeat, saw her little body. I did everything right: ate properly, rested, and took my vitamins. I felt such joy, reading to her and singing lullabies. Why did you take her? Why don’t I deserve a child? Is my past so unforgivable?

My husband tells me to lean into you and let your love help me. He prays nightly for peace, yet I know I will never find it. I don’t feel love for you, only contempt! Because of you, I only feel grief and emptiness, not joy and