Manna

By Angelina Dunlap

This is a story of a young girl who discovers her true essence through her encounter with a creature that reflects her shadow. Instead of running from this creature, she befriends it and heals it with kindness and love. Along her journey, she learns about her family lineage, her spiritual beliefs and discovers her innate healing gifts.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781667874166

Book preview

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Acknowledgements

For my children – Everything good in my life is for you and because of you.

For Lang and Shirley – Two of the most important women in my life. Both are women of substance.

For the Reader – It is my wish to lift your spirit with this short story – to bring you back to your inner child, a place of innocence and love, and to remind you that you can change another person’s life with kindness. Life is a journey, and may your journey be beautiful.

Manna

©2022 Angelina Dunlap

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

print ISBN: 978-1-66787-415-9

ebook ISBN: 978-1-66787-416-6

Contents

Chapter 1: In the Beginning

Chapter 2: Raising A Child

Chapter 3: MAGIC - Man and God in Cooperation

Chapter 4: The Secrets We Hold

Chapter 5: The Encounter

Chapter 6: The Offerings

Chapter 7: The Snake and The Ox

Chapter 8: The Importance of a Name

Chapter 9: Understanding Gratitude

Chapter 10: The Light After the Storm

Chapter 11: The Promise Kept

Chapter 1:

In the Beginning

During the eleventh moon cycle of the solar year, a mother gave birth to a daughter. Small as she was, her entrance into the world was not so easy for her mother. This child was unsure she wanted to make her appearance in the world. Finally, in the early morning, fate showed itself as this child made her appearance feet-first, ready to run free, belting out a roar of resistance to being pulled out of the comfort of her mother’s womb. What relief the mother felt as she slipped into an exhaustive sleep from nearly a full day of agonizing labor. As the child cried for being yanked out of her protective cocoon to an unknown place, the father laughed as he swept her up to his chest and tenderly cradled her in his arms. She finally quieted her squealing as she felt comforted by his deep voice, kind in nature, speaking blessings into her tiny ears. She did not understand a word he was saying, but she felt the soothing resonant sound of his voice.

When the mother woke, the father placed the child in the mother’s arms for her first feeding. Instinctively, mother and child knew what to do. What is natural does not need to be taught. The father spoke softly so as not to disturb the child, brushed the mother’s hair from her face, and asked her, What shall we name our child? The exhausted mother hid her pain from giving birth and giggled as she spoke to the father. We shall name her Ariyeh. Ariyeh, born into the House of Judah—great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great-granddaughter of David. Fierce and stubborn, yet a bit smaller than the average child, she will have to carry a name worthy of her entrance. The father laughed and said, If only you heard her screams! The mother corrected him, reminding him that she was well aware that the child roared like a lion for having been pulled out of her peaceful den before she was ready.

And so, Ariyeh was born into a family with a long history of ancestors—some of whom she would be told stories about and others whom she would not