From Rags to Riches: How We Made Our Christian Marriage and Businesses a Success

By Joseph Trawick and Annette Trawick

From Rags to Riches is the true story of two strangers who find each other in midlife and turn rags into riches and make their Christian marriage and businesses a success. Joseph and Annette Trawick were both born in small, rural areas, Wilkinson and Hancock Counties in Georgia, approximately sixteen miles apart—only separated by pine trees, dirt, and gravel roads. Both had previous marriages and have adult children. Although they felt it was love at first sight, there were many obstacles in their path that undermined what God had set as their destiny.
There were many struggles, from starting their business to maintaining their marriage and maintaining the bond between their adult children.
Throughout this book, they will take you on a journey of good and ugly. Believing in the faith of God and each other, they discovered that being rich is not all about money but about love, family, health, and happiness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jun 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9781663222558

Joseph Trawick

Joseph and Annette Trawick are the authors of this book. This is a true story and were written by both together as they take a look back over their lives . They will take you on a journey about the Rags and Riches of their lives. The Rags and Riches will not focus on being poor and money, but on how to build on being poor and using that building block as being strong instead of being Rich. Mr .Trawick is 72 years old and Mrs. Trawick 65 yrs of age. Both from previous marriages, have children and grandchildren ,and a past they haunted both of them as they moved forward in search of a new life together. They find love at first sight ,married and encountered many obstacles as they moved forward. Their Faith and trust in the Lord led them in and out of many crises .In order to survive their marriage and to keep their family together ,they had to wrapped their arms around each other and their children ,and block the outer world out. They pursuded their goals and dreams of owning their own businesses. Mrs. Trawick is a school drop out, never finished high school, but through her Faith in God, she was able to go to college and complete Grad School with a Masters Degree in Nursing Administration. Mr. Trawick is a truck Driver with 25 years experience in the business world. 4/27/2021: Annette Trawick is a registered nurse and a clinical nurse specialist. She earned her master’s degree with a clinical focus in gerontology. She is an entrepreneur and the owner of Collaborative Health Care CNA training program, which holds a five-star rating, and Ratliff Private Home Care. Joseph Trawick is a high school graduate. He has worked in many fields of industry and always wanted to own his own business. He has twenty-five years’ experience as an over-the-road truck driver. He is an entrepreneur, the owner of Trawick Cleaning and Maintenance Services and Global Transit, LLC. Joseph and Annette have said, “Our greatest accomplishments today are our love for the Lord, our businesses, our children’s success, and our marriage.”

Book preview

Copyright © 2021 Joseph and Annette Trawick.

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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ISBN: 978-1-6632-2253-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-2252-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-2255-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021911621

iUniverse rev. date: 06/08/2021

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 Annette: Growing Up Poor

Chapter 2 Annette: A Mother’s Child

Chapter 3 Annette: A School Dropout

Chapter 4 Annette: Walk Down Memory Lane

Chapter 5 Annette: The First Date

Chapter 6 Annette: Commitment to a Relationship

Chapter 7 Joseph: Walk Down Memory Lane

Chapter 8 Joseph: Struggles

Chapter 9 Joseph: A Mother’s Child

Chapter 10 The Wedding

Chapter 11 Establishing Businesses

Chapter 12 Where Are We Today?

Chapter 13 What Is Your Goal?

Chapter 14 Where Is God in Your Life?

Chapter 15 Entrepreneurs

About the Authors

To our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the first person in our lives. Without him, our success in life would not be possible.

To our deceased parents, for whom we hold great admiration and love.

To our children and grandchildren, we love you, and we appreciate the joy that all of you have brought to our lives.

To our friends and community that were there for us, even when they thought we did not feel their presence. Your prayers, love, and support never went unnoticed, and we are forever thankful to all of you.

Introduction

What do you want out of life? What kind of mate do you want? What kind of career or job and marriage are you seeking?

Is it the right one? Is it the wrong one? Do you want the same thing in life that your mate wants? Or are you so different that you cannot stand the sight of each other?

Some people choose mates because of their families or for financial reasons or popularity, but choosing a person for the wrong reason can be disastrous. When you choose your mate, let it be your choice—because of your inner feelings, your gut feelings, and your mother wit. (In this book, mother wit refers to common sense.)

Do not let anyone else make that final decision for you. You know what you want and how you want it. You know when you want it and where you want it.

That’s you. The decisions you make are decisions you will have to live with throughout your lifetime. Be honest with yourself and dig deeply into your heart, especially when choosing someone with whom you plan to live the rest of your life.

We are all God’s children. He gave us all the ability to be and do whatever we set out to become and do. We all have faults and shortcomings, but God gave us the ability and know-how to deal with those issues. We are all human beings and make mistakes. Our first priority should be to recognize that we have made a mistake, and the second should be to correct the mistake.

It’s how you deal with and correct your mistakes that will make or break you. Then, you can move on with your life.

Making a career with your chosen mate is also a challenge. You will have up-and-down disagreements on different things, but you can shake it up and pour it out as one decision on which you both can agree. That’s progress!

Some people choose jobs or careers based on the salary, instead of for the pleasure and enjoyment of that job or career. Choosing a job is similar to choosing a mate—you should love what you do and enjoy the outcome. If you are not happy, move on.

We are going to take you down a path of the good and the ugly—the struggles we faced in