AGAINST ALL ODDS

By Novica Olinger

As a young black girl in a low-income, single-parent home, Novica Olinger finds herself in a life filled with obstacles designed to keep her on a statistical road to nowhere. The problem with statistics is most of the time, you don't get to hear the real stories behind that data; or you see negative stories played out on reality talk shows that just cause you to shake a judgmental head. In her own words, Novica gets to tell you her story. As an adult, Novica candidly recounts her struggles with being sexually abused as a child and becoming a teen mother at thirteen years old. This emotionally charged yet inspirational story recounts her journey of healing and determination. For years, she dealt with the lack of self-worth, self-confidence, and self-love until one day, she was captivated by the realization that God loved her. Thinking back over her childhood, Novica writes compelling accounts of supernatural events which revealed God's hand was in every event throughout her life. Discovering her true worth and identity in Christ, Novica decided that she was going to live her life unapologetically and on purpose while uncovering every blessing God has for her. "No matter what is going on in your life, God will move heaven and earth to intervene on your behalf. He loves you that much," (Novica Olinger, Author).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 26, 2018
• ISBN: 9781643003023

Book preview

Preface

One night as I was preparing a speech for a Sexual Abuse Awareness charity event, I did an impromptu web search about teenage pregnancies in Miami County, Ohio, in 1990. What I was looking for was teen girls who had a baby under the age of fifteen. I found the statistic to be surprisingly low as the record showed only one teen girl in the whole Miami County area had met my search criteria. I sat back and stared at the computer screen in awe, taking in the lone number as tears rolled down my face. I know this number; I know this girl. She is me.

The problem with statistics is that you don’t get the real stories behind the data. What you get is exactly what you are looking for, nothing more or nothing less; the data is what it is. But have you ever wondered about the individual stories behind the people that make up the statistics?

Ninety-nine percent of all statistics only tell 49 percent of the story (Ron DeLegge II).

Most people would just assume in this particular search result, the mom was possibly a troubled teen with a plethora of issues—a runaway, on drugs, or sexually promiscuous. She probably gave her baby up because she was too young to take care of the infant. Worst yet, she kept the baby, ended up dropping out of school and getting assistance from a government program. Another teen mom that society has to support. We never stop to think about the 49 percent. My story is where you get to find out what happened. I get to tell you my story. A story of how God turned a statistic into a success. The odds were against me from an early age; however, through my faith, I was able to rise above the stereotypes. I found myself being a part of this stereotype. No one expects much for a teen mom, right? It’s easy to judge. How many times do we find ourselves being judged according to where we live, our family name, or even the color of our skin? How many times have we lived our lives believing the negative judgments of others, feeling defeated in our efforts, and then just losing the will to become more than what others think of us? We blame God or even Satan for everything that has gone wrong in our lives and all the struggles we have had to endure.

One night, I attended a small group and the question was posed, If you could ask God any question, what would you ask? The majority of the questions were simply, God, why did I have to go through this or that? Or God, why is my family member going through such a hard time? I pondered this question many times in my youth as I was dealing with so many obstacles in my life. As I sit here today, I understand so much more because I have grown in Christ, and I can see that His hands were working at every moment of my struggles. The odds were stacked against me, living in a low-income, single-parent home, being raised by my mother. Living in poverty, we weren’t just low on income; we were in a category of just surviving, if that was an economic status. We did not have much, sometimes finding ourselves without the bare essentials of life. This, I am sure, was not the case all of the time; however, between the ages of five and nine years old, it was truly a reality. The next obstacle in my life was not having the parental attention and guidance that I needed which also created opportunities for sexual abuse to take place. All of these factors led to my life going in a direction I didn’t see coming.

So back to the question at hand, God, why did I have to go through these experiences? In my case, the statistics weren’t in my favor when I was growing up. As a result, I went through a myriad of emotions resulting from sexual abuse. It was not God’s desire for us to live in sin nor to be affected by others’ sin, but the reality is, God gives us free will, and what we do with it is our responsibility. Therefore, bad things happen to people all the time, no matter what the cultural, social, economic, or geographic situation. It’s not God’s doing. It’s human (sin) nature. But what God promises is that what the devil tries to use to harm you, God will turn that very situation around for your good. God can flip a bad situation into the most powerful manifestation of His glory, if you allow Him to work with you through your journey.

It has been years in the making; however, my purpose in writing this book is to declare to you that where you began in life isn’t always an indicator of where you will end up. I had a baby at thirteen years old. I was not a promiscuous girl, but I was manipulated by someone much older who decided to take advantage of me at a young age, and as a result, I became pregnant. I didn’t ask to be sexually exploited or manipulated. I didn’t expect to become pregnant, and I most certainly did not expect to be a mother at thirteen years old, but this was my journey. Someone’s story may be even more tragic than mine and yours