His Perfect Plan

By Nancy Row

About the Book
His Perfect Plan tells the story of a young boy struggling through life with a family plagued by alcohol and domestic abuse. Though life was hard, he found that God would step in to guide him, saving his life and moving his soul in order to break the cycle of abuse. He has lived on to share his story with the world, and to share his miracle with anyone whose heart is open to receive God’s gift.

About the Author
Nancy Row grew up in a small town with a loving, Christian home. She attended church every Sunday, and met her husband at age thirteen at a church event. She never intended on writing a book, but she always wanted her husband to write about his childhood in order to help and inspire those who live in a similar situation. With this book she hopes to open readers’ eyes to the power of God, and his ability to work through others to change the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Company
• Release date: May 24, 2023
• ISBN: 9781639376490

Book preview

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The contents of this work, including, but not limited to, the accuracy of events, people, and places depicted; opinions expressed; permission to use previously published materials included; and any advice given or actions advocated are solely the responsibility of the author, who assumes all liability for said work and indemnifies the publisher against any claims stemming from publication of the work.

All Rights Reserved

Copyright © 2023 by Nancy Row

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted, downloaded, distributed, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented without permission in writing from the publisher.

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His Perfect Plan

I dedicate this book to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Without Jesus in my life, I would be lost and hopeless. Seeing Charlie again, the love of my life, would never happen. God is our creator; He creates everything, and everything belongs to Him. His ways are perfect, and everything He does is right. This is what gives us peace when the world seems upside down. He is always in control, and He is always working His Perfect Plan.

In my Bible studies, I read a book by David Jeremiah called Angels. After reading this book, I now realize that God talked to Charlie through His angels. Not once, but all throughout his childhood. I can see who was really in charge of Charlie’s life, God. He loved him and protected him and carried him through unbearable situations.

The main reason I have always wanted Charlie’s story to be told is because his story is like many others who have been physically and mentally abused, but a little different. The difference is who was behind Charlie’s success as a son, a brother, a father, and an amazing husband living in this ugly world. I wanted to give all of the glory to the one that was really responsible for Charlie’s life and the decisions that he made. It was God’s love, God’s work, and God’s perfect plan.

I had a very difficult time understanding how someone could survive the abuse and heartache that Charlie did and still become a responsible, honest, and God-fearing man, without anyone setting an example for him to follow.

Neither of our children have heard all of the stories you are about to read. Charlie was a very private person, not wanting anyone, especially our children, to feel sorry for him in any way. His way of loving someone was providing for them and keeping them safe, like he did for his little brother Albert. That is partly true, but showing physical love, like hugs, was difficult for him to give and to receive. Charlie always felt like he didn’t deserve love or happiness.

I was then, during our marriage, and I am still proud of Charlie. I love the Lord for bringing us together. He loved us,  watched over us, and  how He continues to watch over me now that Charlie is no longer here with me.

When people read these stories, the way I remembered them, I pray that it will help those who have gone through similar situations or are going through the same circumstances now know you don’t have to live through it alone. I hope that people will understand that with God in your life, anything is possible.

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Going to Heaven

When I ask someone if they know where they are going after they die and they say, I am religious, I go to church, and I’m a good person; I think I’m going to heaven, my heart skips a beat. Some people think, as I once did, that to make that claim, you automatically go to heaven. When you go to church, it doesn’t make you religious or get you into heaven, it just gives you information. Some churches never read Bible verses during the service; I attended one. They sing hymns, chant phrases, and listen to a message that the clergyman has prepared. Being a good person is wonderful, but it doesn’t get you into heaven.

I grew up in a Lutheran Church. I went to Sunday school and church every Sunday. I even have a medal with thirteen trinkets on it, one for every year I attended Sunday school without missing a Sunday. Most of the messages in Church were about how Christians should behave and treat one another. In Sunday school, we learned of Jesus’s love for little children.

When I married Charlie, I stopped going to church because I thought, I believe there is a God. He had a son, Jesus, and I thought that I was a good person. I really didn’t understand that God offered a free will gift to live in eternity with Him. I wasn’t taught about the gift or how to receive it.

After several years of marriage, Charlie and I attended a Bible church. Every Sunday the pastor would have a prepared message and read actual Bible verses. He would break down the meaning of each verse so we could understand how we were to live as Christians and how to receive that gracious gift. I learned that God wants to have a relationship with us. He allowed His Son to die on the cross, for our sins. He was buried and rose on the third day. He accended into Heaven. All so  we could live with Him in eternity, if we accept His free will gift.

Studying parts of the Bible, I have read that God has a plan for each and every one of us. Reliving the stories of Charlie’s life through writing this book, and now looking back, I can see how God worked out Charlie’s plan, from the day he was born until the end of his life on this earth. He continually directed Charlie’s life. He kept loving Charlie and tugging on his heart, hoping that Charlie would trust Him, follow Him, and accept His gift.

It was through our son Michael, Charlie and I accepted God’s gracious gift. I thank Michael for loving us enough to guide us to our Heavenly Father, so one day we can all be together again.

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Our Life

Our life together began back in the fall of 1960. I was thirteen and unaware of the world outside of Catonsville, Maryland. It was a small town that you could walk anywhere and get anything you needed. Charlie was sixteen and worldly wise. What a strange combination, but it seems that God had a plan, and knew exactly what He was doing.

It was the beginning of September, if I recall correctly, and I was just leaving the junior high school that I attended. Suddenly I heard a voice say, Nancy, come over here. I want you to meet my friend Charles. As I crossed the road, I was checking this friend out. He was nice looking, well dressed, blond hair, and as I approached, I could see he had blue eyes. She introduced us and added, She’s my best friend. Best friend? I hardly knew her. The only connection we had was she lived in Catonsville, but best friend, not. Being only thirteen I was just starting to like boys, boys who played sports and boys with dark hair and brown eyes. As we talked, he mentioned that he attended Baltimore City College. My brain froze. Baltimore City College, what was she thinking, introducing me to an older boy, way older? She saw the look on my face and said that Baltimore City College was an all-boys’ high school in the city. We talked for about twenty minutes, and then, not being interested, I said that it was getting late and I had to go home.

On the way home, I thought, He seems nice, but not really my type. I didn’t know she gave him my phone number and address, until he started to call. She told him that I loved to dance and attend teen centers every weekend. The first time I answered the phone he said, Hi, this is Charles, how are you? I was shocked and said that I couldn’t talk, I was busy, and hung up the phone. I know, that was rude. I was only thirteen and a spoiled brat. He called a couple of days later, and I did the same thing. You would think he would get the message. I asked my mother to please answer the phone from now on, and if it was Charles, tell him I can’t come to the phone. My mother said, That is not nice; it wouldn’t hurt to talk to him. It’s just a phone conversation; it can’t hurt.

About a week went by and the phone rang, shortly after dinner. I started to get nervous. What if it is him? I have made all of the excuses I could think of. I called out to my mother and said, Mom, please answer the phone, I really don’t want to talk to him. So she answered the phone and then I heard her say, Hi Charles, just a minute I’ll put Nancy on  the phone.  She held the phone away from her mouth and yelled, Nancy, it is that nice young man, Charles. Why was she yelling? I was standing right next to her. I was so embarrassed, I couldn’t talk to him. I knew that my mom was listening so I said, I have to wash my hair, so I’ll talk to you another time. When I got off of the phone she said, That wasn’t so bad was it? She told me that her friend from church was talking to her the other day and her friend told her she knew Charles. He lives at the General German Orphan Home over on Bloomsbury Avenue. She also knows the superintendent, Mr. McTeer, and several other children. Now I really felt bad, orphan home? Maybe he didn’t have parents to love him and take care of him. My mom also said that her friend told her that all of the children received an allowance of fifty-cents for chores they were responsible for during the week. He started calling me three times a week. He’s wasting his money on someone that is not interested in him. After my mom and I talked about it I decided that it wouldn’t hurt to just talk to him once in a while. The very next time he called and my mom answered the phone, my mom invited him to stop by and visit. I said under my breath, And I won’t be here.

Another  week went by and after school one day I was outside playing catch with one of my friends, it was a boy, not a boy friend. We were throwing the baseball back and forth and he missed the ball when I threw it to him. He turned to pick it up and wildly threw it back, over my head. When I turned around Charles was there. He caught the ball and handed it to me. He said, Here you go, I didn’t know you liked sports? I asked him what he was doing on my street and he said that my mom told him to stop by one day on his way home from school. MOM, what in the world was going on? I told my friend that we could practice another time and Charles and I went into my house. My mom must have seen this whole account and when we came into the living room, she had a plate of cookies and two glasses of ice tea, setting on the coffee table. We all talked for about twenty minutes and then Charles said he had to get home to do his chores. He thanked my mom and said, I’ll see you around. I watched him walk down the walkway to the sidewalk and down the street until he turned the corner. Then my mom said, He’s a very nice young man.

I said, Yeah, he’s okay; he would make a good catcher. She didn’t get it, so maybe she wasn’t watching the whole time.

It was Friday night, and on weekends some of the schools would hold teen night, some on Fridays and some of the schools on Saturday nights. Dancing was tops on my list of things to do. My parents were okay with it as long as a friend went along. Sometimes several of my friends would meet me at the school. I started noticing that some nights, about fifteen or twenty minutes after the music would start, Charles would show up and just stand against the wall with some of his friends. They would just watch everyone dance, and then when the last song started to play, they would disappear.

My church was having a teen night, which they had about twice a month in the summer. We would have a small devotion, plenty of snacks, and then music. My parents volunteered to chaperone for almost all of the teen events and bring some of the snacks. After helping my mom set up the food and put chairs against the walls, I ran over to see what records they were going to play. Not all of the popular songs were allowed in our church. I turned around and I almost bumped into, guess who? You got it, Charles. He said, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to get in your way.

I was really surprised to see him there and stuttered, It’s okay, don’t worry about it. When the music started, of course, my friends and I started dancing. After several songs they played a slow song, so we all sat down. When I got to my chair and turned around to sit down, next to my parents, I saw Charles coming over in our direction. He stopped right in front of me and asked me if I would like to dance. I was shocked. I didn’t know he could dance; I never saw him dance before. I had the words on the tip of my tongue to say no, and my mom spoke up and said, Go ahead Nancy, dance with the nice young man. There she goes, with that nice young man thing again. We danced, and after the song stopped, he walked me back to my chair and he said, Thanks for the dance. I was surprised; he could dance. It wasn’t too bad for a nice young man. He started to walk away, stopped, and turned around and said, Would you like to go to the movies next Saturday? I looked at my mom; she had a big smile on her face and was nodding her head yes.

I thought, Mom, he didn’t ask you; he asked me. It was the strangest thing, something came over me and was telling me it was okay, go ahead, he wouldn’t bite. So I said, Yes, I guess so. I still didn’t like him that much, and he had the wrong color eyes, blue, but he did seem nice. My mom said I could go, but I had to take a friend with me. He told her that was just fine, and then he said, I’ll meet you and your friend in front of the Alpha Theater in the middle of Catonsville.

Saturday came, and my friend and I walked to the theater. As we were approaching the theater, I noticed that Charles had three tickets in his hand. That was really nice of him. Wow! I didn’t have to pay and neither did my friend. So that’s how it works when a boy asks you to a movie. I could get use to this. I can’t remember the name of the movie, but it was a cowboy movie. I was so nervous; I couldn’t talk. I don’t know what came over me; that was very unusual. I never had a problem expressing my opinion before. After the movie was over, we went outside. He said, Maybe we could do this another time. I just nodded my head yes. I still had a hard time speaking.

When I got home, my parents asked me if I had a good time. I told them that he paid for all of our tickets, and my mom said, He’s a nice young man, again.

My dad said, "He seems