Nine Days and Seven Days

By Annabella Thompson

Most of the time, our thoughts and desires for our lives do not unfold the way we planned. This is because none of us know God’s plan and timing. It is not until He provides the answers that we understand not just His divine plan, but also his timing.

In a retelling of her unique journey to spiritual truths, Annabella Thompson shares insight into her varied experiences as she floundered in the swamp of life, unable to adequately express her feelings to her husband as she attempted to recreate her existence after an attempted suicide. As she leads others chronologically through a chain of events, Annabella reveals how she was eventually saved when God emerged to guide her out of the dark tunnel and into His beautiful light. Throughout her narrative, Annabella reminds anyone who may be suffering in life that there is always hope and a way out of the darkness where second chances await.

Nine Days and Seven Days is the true story of how one woman journeyed from a life of frustration, loneliness, and despair into the loving arms of God to realize peace, self-acceptance, and hope.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664262829

Annabella Thompson

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Copyright © 2022 Annabella Thompson.

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 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.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

All Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-6283-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-6284-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-6282-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022906589

WestBow Press rev. date: 05/16/2022

CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

Section 1 Nine Days

Day 1 ER

Day 2 Cardiac Unit: June 22, 2009

Day 3 Cardiac Unit: June 23, 2009

Day 4 Psych Unit: June 24, 2009

Day 5 Psych Unit: June 25, 2009

Day 6 Psych Unit: June 26, 2009

Day 7 Psych Unit: June 27, 2009

Day 8 Psych Unit: June 28, 2009

Day 9 Psych Unit: June 29, 2009

Section 2 Seven Days

Day 1 June 30, 2009

Day 2 July 1, 2009

Day 3 July 2, 2009

Day 4 July 6, 2009

Day 5 July 7, 2009

Day 6 July 9, 2009

Day 7 July 13, 2009

Section 3 Her Life Afterward

Keep Walking

Section 4 God Was Holding Her Hand

Two Battleships Run into Each Other

Cozy Corner

Wait For Me!

Holding and Saving Her Life

God Heard Her

God Answered Her

Fell in Love with God Again

Closing Remarks

GOD GAVE ME THE PRIVILEGE

TO BE WITH HIM. ANYONE CAN

HAVE THAT PRIVILEGE IF ONE

IS WILLING TO FOLLOW HIM.

PREFACE

The reason I published this book was because I wanted to share it with and help even one person, who may be in a difficult situation like I once was, and I still am at times. I like to share my experiences of how I found God again. They are still so vivid. I remember what I said, heard, and saw during that time. Only the stories of my husband were partially fictionalized. They were based on my conversations with him and the things that he showed me. The reason why I wrote this in the third person was that I thought that I could look at the past objectively and less painfully while I wrote it. I hope that you will think about life differently after reading this book and find refuge in God.

Love endures. It is difficult, but it is worth it. As you know, husbands and wives are the closest partners and friends in life. We should not hurt each other. However, God is the one who is closest to us.

Even when we are in agony, it can be wonderful agony, and we can experience beautiful things because we still are breathing, and God is with us. I feel the breeze. I am still walking. What more do I need?

I would like to thank to my cousin, Celine Parker, who edited this story. I hope that my readers can relate to and share it.

INTRODUCTION

Thank you, God. The time went by so fast. I have looked back on myself these past few years. It was challenging and damaging, but I learned a lot of things from those challenging and damaging times.

I have greatly changed my thoughts. I perceive things in a more positive way. I believe that thoughts are just like a human’s hands. They have two different sides: the palm side and the back of the hand. Both sides look and feel differently. If I scratch my palm, it tickles. If I scratch the back of my hand, it feels good. Both sides belong to one person. This may not be a good comparison and explanation, but our lives are like human hands. During your life, you have different feelings and thoughts, but they belong to you. I do not know which side of your hand that people normally look at, but it either way, it still belongs to you. You only look at the side that you want to look at, but if you change your thoughts just a little bit, you can see your life in different ways, and life will be balanced in a better way. There are always different ways of feeling, looking, and thinking.

I have not changed my lifestyle much, but everything feels different since I changed my thoughts. I believe that this requires practice. We can practice having positive thoughts to become positive. People always believe and think the way that they want to believe. People always hear what they want to hear and speak the way they want to speak, but it is just our own versions of reality. I do that most of the time, too.

Most of the time, our thoughts and desires do not turn out the way that we planned. My life will not turn out the way I planned because then it would be my plan and not God’s plan for me. I realize that God has a plan for me. I just do not know the timing of that plan. No one knows God’s plan and timing for us. We will realize God’s plan for us when He gives us the answer. Only God knows His timing.

No one can change another person. Our personalities are embedded within our genetics. However, I think that with the power of God, a person can change in character and spirit. If we want to change, we need to think carefully about the right way to be changed. There is no perfect way because no one is perfect. I believe that it only happens through God. If you have even 1 percent of doubt, you need to think more carefully because that little 1 percent can sometimes be bigger than the 99 percent. God will give us guidance regarding the right way when it is the right time. He will not let us go toward the wrong path. If we have doubts, we should sincerely ask God. He will answer us. We all make mistakes. Eventually, we all will be changed.

I am still in the transition of change. It will take some time, and it might take longer than I anticipate, but I will keep trying. I might lose my way, pause, or be derailed in the middle of this transitional path, but hopefully, I will be able to get back up quickly and continue toward the right path. Jesus will raise me up and let me march again. God will give me a path and guide me through because He is my lighthouse. I am still walking.

PART 1

NINE DAYS

DAY 1

ER

I t was a breezy summer evening. Alessia was walking down the street. She had been exhausted, but she had still decided to go for a walk. Her gait was sluggish because of the weight of the troubles that were bearing down on her. She attempted to inhale the fresh air deeply but realized that she did not even have the strength to take a deep breath because it required so much energy. She was about five feet, four inches tall, and she weighed ninety-four pounds. She lost a lot of weight before she was eventually hospitalized.

The evening was peaceful. Cars quietly passed her at different times. The trees enjoyed the summer breeze. Everything was moving to a natural rhythm, and the breeze gave her peace. Where she was, the sun was about to set, but it was getting ready to rise on the other side of the world. She never wondered what was happening on the other side of the world, and she did not really care. She was completely present in the moment and enjoying what she was seeing on her walk. Some people were jogging, some were taking a walk like she was, and some were walking their dogs. The breeze felt amazing to Alessia. She believed that breezes and winds could perform the loveliest symphonies in nature and act as the greatest orchestras in the world.

For a while, she enjoyed the breeze to its fullest, but then she thought about how she had attempted suicide. She also thought about her marriage. Alessia and Edward had been a stable couple earlier in their marriage until some hardship had happened. They both were incredibly quiet people. Alessia was quieter than Edward was. She was not as charming as other women were. He was not a romantic person but thoughtful. Neither of them knew how to express their feelings to each other.

Alessia especially did not know how to express her feelings verbally. Instead, she normally showed it in a sweet manner. She also did not communicate well with new people because she was a very introverted person. She was not shy, but she did not know what to do or how to start a conversation with people that she had just met. She did not like to be around groups of people. She did not know how to filter her words when speaking to people. She was very honest about how she felt or thought. For example, if she received a gift that had something green in it, she would say, Thank you for the gift, but I don’t like the color green. Her mother had admonished her many times for talking that way when she was younger. She did not mean to hurt people’s feeling. It was just the nature of her personality.

She started to feel that Edward had never cared about her and began to complain to him. He was not very talkative when he was with her, but he was the one who usually said something when they were together. He had a sense of humor, and he always made her laugh. But she had doubts that Edward truly loved her, and she wanted to ascertain the truth. She really wanted to see more of Edward’s reactions from time to time. Sometimes he acted like a little boy.

They were comfortable with each other. They did not have a child in their marriage, but they were always happy the way that they were.

Before moving from the west coast to the east coast, they had often driven to one of the national parks on the weekends and had had lunch or dinner. Edward often found new restaurants, where they loved trying new cuisines. They did not share many feelings with each other, but they were a loving couple.

She was thinking and talking to herself. I broke the biggest self-promise on Sunday, June 21, 2009. I broke the biggest rule to myself on Sunday, June 21, 2009. I tried to destroy my life that day. I overdosed on my pain and muscle relaxant pills. I have no idea how many of those pills I took, but I took a handful. I thought that was the only way to stay in my marriage. I did not want to get a divorce. I could not look at his back as he left me. I was very scared. I knew that I had scared my husband that day, as much as I scared myself—maybe more. How silly I was.

On Sunday, June 21, 2009, they started arguing again. Edward was watching TV in the living room and ignoring her as much as he could. Alessia was screaming and yelling about anything and everything. She accused Edward of lying, hiding, treating her badly, and cheating. She thought that he was having an affair, but awhile later, she forgot what she had been yelling about. She criticized Edward’s family and friends. She was mocking him in a critical way when they were arguing. She seemed as if she had lost control of her mind. She had reached her boiling point and erupted like a volcano.

She had been feeling weary of her marriage for over a year. They were tired of each other. Alessia could not trust him, and she was suspicious of everything that he did. She had a feeling that he was having an affair, but she did not have any evidence of it. Nevertheless, she believed that he was cheating on her.

Edward had started acting strangely a few months earlier. They had grown tired of dealing with each other. He was starting to ignore her most of the time. He looked at her and talked to her in a very bitter way. Edward ignored her completely most of the time. He had grown resentful of the way that Alessia had acted, spoke to, and treated him for the past six months. He had always been a workaholic.

She had been very lonely most days. When he ignored her, she felt alone emotionally. She had started to cry a few months earlier, and gradually, her crying had grown worse when she was alone. Also, they argued almost every day. She yelled about a woman whom she was suspicious of and nagged him about how he talked on the phone with that person and the tone of his voice. She heard a calm voice. This made her feel more uneasy. When Alessia had finished yelling at Edward, she headed upstairs to their bedroom, saying, You will regret what you have done to me! I hope you will miss me later! She banged the bedroom door closed. Once she was upstairs, she got two of her pain pills bottles and a cup of water.

Edward did not pay attention to her. He did not want to listen to what she had to say, and he did not really want to deal with it.

They had moved to the east coast about a year and half ago, after Edward had gotten a new job. Alessia had had a job until 2003. She had quit her job because of a neck cervical-disc surgery. Ever since they had married, they had moved around many times in their home state because of Edward’s job. Every time Edward got a new job, it was a better position. The move made it difficult for her to keep working anyway, so she decided to resign, become a full-time housewife, and have her surgery done.

They finally moved to the east coast in August of 2008. Their first month there, they lived in the hotel where his job was until they found their own place. After they moved into the new place, Alessia was busy the first couple of months, opening moving boxes and organizing their new place. After she had organized almost everything, she did not have anything to do. Edward always left for work at around 5:30 in the morning and came home at around 7:30 in the evening. She stayed home alone all day. They only had one car, and Alessia let him take it to work. She only used the car when she needed to