Miracle for a Nobody

By David Ross Sherman

This is a true story of a man's search for his daughter after a fifteen year separation and the amazing miracles that happened during his quest.

"Warren was lost in the throes of alcoholism. Emily and he had a three year old daughter and she held a tremendous amount of fear, thinking her life and that of her baby would be lived

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Book Bureau
• Release date: Apr 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9781960548016

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Copyright © 2023 David Ross Sherman

All rights reserved. This book is protected by copyright. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including as photocopies or scanned-in or other electronic copies, or utilized by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the copyright owner.

Interior Design by The Book Bureau

Printed in the United States of America.

ISBN:    978-1-960548-00-9 (paperback)

              978-1-960548-01-6 (ebook)

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Beckley, West Virginia-1965

Chapter 2: Leaving

Chapter 3: Changes in direction

Chapter 4: Valentine’s Day 1983 Monday

Chapter 5: Tuesday- Columbus, Ohio

Chapter 6: Juanita

Chapter 7: Wednesday

Chapter 8: Finding a ride

Chapter 9: Thursday – Phoenix

Chapter 10: The church

Chapter 11: Some good news

Chapter 12: The meeting

Preface

We love Him because He first loved us

If we take the time to really consider that statement, we will understand what an amazing statement it is. I know that is true in my own life and I will bet it’s true in yours. I have been saved from certain death several times in my life. Most of them occurring prior to my having a relationship with the Lord. Had I not been saved from certain death, my eternity would certainly have a most horrifying end, but because I eventually sought after truth, as Jesus said, I found it. God knew that I would do that in His amazing foreknowledge of all of history, even my history, even your history.

The man in this story most certainly was loved by the Lord prior to his knowledge of that love. That is true of all humanity. But God chose to give him a gift even though he had no knowledge of God. God gave him something, the desire of his heart, prior to giving him Himself. But in his search, he was being planted and watered unbeknown to him. This is how God works sometimes in those whom we say He has chosen. And He chooses anyone who seeks Him earnestly, because they are searching for truth. And if they are honestly seeking truth, they will inevitably discover Jesus Christ, for He is the end of all truth.

We sometimes are lost in our own pain and suffering, even though it is of our own making. When that happens, we are unable to trust anyone, especially someone we cannot see. And just because people keep telling us that we may be close to God’s heart, we have a hard time believing it because of our situation. If we have not learned to trust God, the situation may seem unbearable.

Trusting God is something we learn to do, just as Warren, the man in this story, did. We may not understand that He was the One who led us to something until we arrive at that particular something and it becomes clear, but if upon that journey, we fail to understand either from the fruit of the journey or during the journey itself that God, in the form of Jesus Christ, is the single most important Being in our lives, in our entire existence, then we will most certainly discover a dire eternity. For it is with that discovery, that our spiritual journey begins. Our spirit is awakened and we can only awaken fully if we continue in the search, not for truth, but for how that truth we have recently discovered applies to us personally.

Just as we are all different genetically speaking, we are all different spiritually speaking. We may look similar, but we are certainly different. And so it is that we must approach our physical, mental, and emotional health individually, making decisions daily that feed and assist us in those areas of our life. But we tend to forget our spiritual side and it never gets fed. I can safely say that there is something beyond this life, and if you fail to address this issue, you will have eternal regrets and eternal pain. Your spirit cries out for the truth of Jesus Christ. If you don’t understand Him, if you don’t yet trust Him with your life, perhaps meeting my friend, Warren will help you understand.

For Roger and those on the road

And

For Tina, because you inspire me to be more

Chapter One

Beckley, West Virginia-1965

This is a true story.

Coal mines can take it out of you. And by it, I mean joy, peace of mind, patience in everything, understanding of what life is really about, your health, all your relationships and finally, your life. The mine can take it all away. The hours are long and the work is hard, dangerous and depressing. But the money is good! Warren was born for the mine. At least that’s what he had been told by his daddy and his granddaddy and everyone else in his life. So why wouldn’t he believe it? It paid good money and much more than most other things in West Virginia, so it was good that he had a hook, his daddy, who could get him a job in the mine. It would be bad manners if he were to choose some other job. Coal was in his blood, daddy often told him. And that’s exactly what it felt like. Blood infested with coal.

He rode down the winding road home from a day at the mine. The leaves were beginning to turn. The colors burst forth from the sides of the hills like a giant paint bucket full of oranges and reds and yellows that gave Warren a great distraction from what he had been thinking about: His life. That subject made him carry a flask. And it seems like it was the best tool he owned. He was dog-tired and just wiped out. Friday night and no energy to do anything. Warren chose to be a victim. Instead of looking at the wonderful things in his life, a wife that loved him and a child who adored him. He chose instead to look at the dark side of things. The glass was always half-empty for him. But it was an attitude that was fed by alcohol with no real substance. He was proof that if you lie to yourself long enough, you will begin to believe your own lies.

Em was tired too, and he knew it. But tired a different way. Warren wanted to fix things the way he always did, but it hadn’t worked lately. He once could just nuzzle her neck a little and make a cooing noise and she would melt. She hadn’t melted for a while now. He didn’t know how to fix it. As he pulled the old Ford truck into the driveway, Warren could see the curtains part just a bit and then suddenly close again. She knew he was home. He wondered what it would be like tonight. Would they fight again, laugh again, or sit in silence as the seconds ticked ever so slowly by while the television spoke of the war in a place called Vietnam. Both Warren and Em sat quietly, ignoring each other as the thoughts each had for the other moved from the once joyous hearts both of them once knew toward the underlying darkness that had entered both their spirits. It really was no one’s fault, but it had happened and neither of them could figure out what to do about it. Their youth and immaturity didn’t allow for them to consider the effects of each decision on the other. It was difficulty born out of confusion and lack of communication. They hadn’t figured out how to talk to one another. That is a skill learned by doing, not watching, but it is guaranteed to fail if no one tries. Stubbornness was endemic in both of them, so it seemed as though for both of them, the other failed to understand their own failures.

Warren was too young to understand all the complexities of the place in which he resided. He was a simple young man doing what his daddy did, and figured if he had a son, he would do it next. It was coal country and it was all that he knew. And it was what most of the men who lived around him knew as well. If you didn’t work at the mine, you didn’t make very much money. Certainly not enough to have a decent life. And to escape that reality he also did what his daddy did and if he had a son, he would too; he drank. Most of the time. He had a nip when he woke up in the morning, a few gulps on the way to work, sometimes, most of the time, he had a few down in the mine and always a few on the way home. He faced a future that didn’t seem like much of a future. Here he was, twenty-one years old and had a little girl who loved him, a wife that didn’t and worked at a job he hated. Anyone would drink, or worse.

Anyone.

Emily was different. She remembered the boy she knew since she was nine years old, which was long enough to know him pretty well. And she thought he was kind to people, but especially to her and Samantha, but couldn’t understand why he was so unhappy. He wooed her with the joy that most young men will woo young ladies when they are young. Shy and at the same time, inviting. Since she was nine. She was a year younger than Warren and at first, just thought of him as another pain-in-the-butt boy, but he kept paying attention to her. They lived only a mile apart, on the edge of town, and that was by way of the road. He could cut off half of that by cutting through the woods he lived next to. He came by often in the month after they first met, wandering aimlessly down the road at first, but was noticed first by Em’s mother and then older sister, Tina.

Whatcha doin’ walkin’ down this road so much, Warren Whatley? Seems like you been down here two, three times this week!

None of your business, Tina Ratliff where I go and what I do!

He was afraid he would be found out by such an obvious move, but Em was the prize and even then, in that first month, he knew she was special. He just didn’t understand how it worked yet. Warren was loyal. If