In the Trusting...: She found love, hope and peace.

By Grace Reacher

Gracie craved a love from people that only God could give her. Not knowing that, she put unreasonable expectations on everyone in her life, expectations that no one could live up to, creating a cycle of disappointment, rejection, and failure to reaching her goal--to be loved. Through eyes of abandonment, Gracie's view was distorted and blurry as she made bad decisions on her own. She longed for a deep, fulfilling love, but at the same time, she felt unworthy to receive what she needed. She had dreams of her perfect relationship with her soulmate, but her dreams did not mirror those her parents had for her.

Spiraling out of control in her quest to feel loved, Gracie became desperate to find her soulmate, wrestling with God over His plan and timing. There were many crossroads in her life where she had to choose to trust God or "help" Him. Gracie struggled with whether she should wait for God to make her dreams come true, or should she create the life she wanted and hope God blessed her plan.

Find out which path Gracie chose as you follow her journey on her quest for that special person created just for her. See how our Heavenly Father patiently teaches her how to hear the wisdom in His whisper on her way to discovering there is no greater love than the love He offered her. Observe how our Heavenly Father patiently loved her through every step, sprinkling grace and mercy while teaching her lessons, leaving signs and signals that He was there all along, offering guidance to find what she was looking for. Find peace and hope for yourself as you see how God loves Gracie through every step by bringing her to a quiet place where she could finally hear His whisper.

In the trusting, she found the love for which she had always been searching, and it didn't look anything like she had expected. She found the gift that God has for all His children--the love that brought her hope and peace.

Part two with Wally and Gracie. You fell in love with them in Grace's first book, Abandoned but Not Alone. In this heartwarming story, you will travel with Gracie on her in-depth search to find her childhood crush and see all the crossroads she encountered in her journey. Learn from Gracie the dos and don'ts to finding one's soulmate and discover the surprises she finds along the way. Gracie never gave up on her dreams, and she hopes this story encourages you not to give up on yours. In the trusting you will find the answers to finding the love meant for you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 23, 2024
• ISBN: 9798889433033

Book preview

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In the Trusting...

She found love, hope and peace.

Grace Reacher

ISBN 979-8-88943-302-6 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88943-303-3 (digital)

Copyright © 2024 by Grace Reacher

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

1

Tell Me Again

2

Not Meant to Be

3

Moving On

4

Time to Be an Adult

5

Is Stan the Man?

6

Marry the Millionaire?

7

Surprise, I'm Home!

8

Taking Control

9

Runaway Train

10

The Subpoena

11

007

12

Trust God, Not the Heart

13

Hearing from Heaven

14

The Wedding Day

15

The Honeymoon

16

Adjusting to Life Together

17

I'm Not Worthy!

18

Change of Plans

19

A Test of True Love

20

Wally Surprises Gracie!

21

Gracie's Side Gig

22

The Big Ten!

23

Making Dreams Come True

24

Transformed: What's Next, Father?

25

Rolling with the Punches

26

Angels All Around

27

The Crossroads

28

A Lockdown of Their Own

29

Trusting the Process

30

Old View, New View

31

The First and the Last

Appendix A

Special Memories and Life Lessons

Appendix B

People Pleaser versus God Pleaser

Appendix C

Salvation Prayer

Appendix D

Scriptures to Hold on To

About the Author

Introduction

Have you been looking for love, your soulmate, the one just for you? In this story, you will read about valuable lessons Gracie experienced along her very bumpy road to finding her soulmate. This search began through the eyes and pain of abandonment, so her view was distorted from the beginning. From her blurry view of reality and truth, you will discover in her story some things we should and shouldn't do to find love. Follow her journey as the young Gracie decides to begin an early search to find the man of her dreams. The soulmate in her dreams was not the man her parents envisioned for her. Gracie's parents divorced when she was very young, which put her in the mindset not to trust their advice on love. She decided she would pray and trust God to help her; if He were too busy, she would find him on her own.

Gracie's determination to find the one she wanted kept her parents on their toes as they tried to protect their innocent little girl from falling into the wrong arms. She never shared her dreams with anyone but Adonai, her Heavenly Father, and had to believe that He would give her the desires of her heart at the perfect time, her timing.

As a child, Gracie developed a crush on a movie star that would haunt her dreams until she could find her dream version of him, the one that surely must be out there waiting to find her. Gracie spends many miles of her journey wrestling with God and her parents, trying to do things her way.

From adults and TV, Gracie learned that we're supposed to follow our hearts. She thought that must mean she knows what is best for herself, right? Time after time, Gracie would repeatedly learn that her heart could not be trusted. It wasn't until she realized that Adonai, her Heavenly Father, had a perfect plan for her did she begin to put her complete trust in Him. Gracie discovered that He wanted her heart and for her to follow Him. If she trusted Him and waited on His timing, she would find what she didn't know she needed—the perfect love of the Father. And with that, for her, also came the perfect love from the man of her dreams.

Trusting our Heavenly Father puts us in a safe place under His covering of protection. He puts dreams in our hearts, but we must still learn to trust His plan and timing. Gracie loved the Lord and strived to be a good child of God, but in her desperation to hurry God's plan for her, she inadvertently took herself off His path. Not realizing it, Gracie was essentially rejecting God's perfect love while searching for the perfect human love (2 Samuel 2:7).

Maybe you will find yourself in her story as she shares her struggles and challenges in trusting God to make her dreams come true when He knows she is ready, His perfect timing.

Through her plan for herself,

She didn't wait on Adonai, our God

She didn't trust His plan or His timing

She was impatient

She wanted to be in control

She searched for love and then

She sabotaged her relationships

She tested them to see if they would stay; most didn't

She didn't know how to love

She didn't know how to be loved

She didn't know how to trust

She didn't feel worthy of love

She felt rejected by love

She tried to live others' dreams for her

She wanted a man, not a boy

She was in love with the dream of her special man

Questions she asked herself:

—Where was he?

—How does she find him?

—How does she keep him?

—God, could he be the one?

—Is she worthy of him?

—Will he stay?

This cycle continued for many years until the Father in His abundant mercy finally took her off the crazy train.

It was when she decided to trust God, stop looking, and wait on Him that He brought the man forever in her dreams into her life in the most creative way that only our Heavenly Father can do.

Her dream came true!

This book was written to encourage others to pray, trust the Father, and believe He knows best and His timing is perfect.

For those He intended for marriage, He predestined the one for you to spend the rest of your life with—in marriage designed by Adonai, our Heavenly Father.

Your soulmate may not look like your parents have envisioned for you; trust the Father and follow His leading.

Happiness is found in allowing Adonai to direct your path. No one knows the path Adonai has for you. When we try to live the dreams that others have for us, we rarely find true lasting happiness and joy.

Also she wanted to encourage parents to pray for their children and trust God to take care of them. The dreams parents have for their children may not look like what God has planned for them.

The search for love must include the author of love to find success. If you allow Adonai to lead you, you will find happiness. If He is the center and foundation of your marriage, there is hope and peace.

Everyone is looking for love, to be accepted and wanted, to be respected, to have a partner to do life with, and to share the ups and downs until death do they part.

This story is about a life lesson on what to do and what not to do to find true lasting love.

Inside you will find

hope and inspiration,

ideas and tips,

source of laughter and crying, and

having the confidence to follow the path God has laid out for you and not the one others have chosen for you.

Enjoy the journey to finding true love and the secret to that success.

1

Tell Me Again

Lying in the hospital bed in front of the plate-glass window, silently watching the birds while holding Gracie's hand as she sat in the chair beside him, Wally whispered, Can you tell me the love story again about ‘My Beauty and Your Beastly one'? He gazed out the window, listening as Gracie told the story from the beginning.

* * * * *

As the sun was slowly creeping up on a beautiful early morning weekday in June, the seagulls were happily scurrying up and down the beach, looking for food as the sun was glowing in the waves as they crashed into the shore. If anyone was looking for Gracie early in the mornings, she could be found curled up in her portable chair in her favorite place on the beach before anyone awoke. Each morning she would go out early to spend time alone with Adonai (God, our Heavenly Father), straining to listen for His whisper in the waves as she prayed. It was so mesmerizing as she watched the waves crash in and pull out continuously while she prayed, read her Bible, and wrote in her journal. She loved being alone with Adonai before most anyone was awake and stirring; it was peaceful and easier to hear Him speak to her heart. She, the sun, the seagulls, and the occasional beach runner were enjoying the quiet time. Gracie sometimes got lost in thought as she watched the little birds run down to the waves, try to dig for food, and then scurry away quickly as the waves chased them. She assumed they were looking for food and found it comical and entertaining to watch them as if they were playing a game with the waves. She wondered why they even tried because the waves would come back before they could focus on finding anything. Or did they? Maybe they ate so quickly that she didn't see it happen.

Lately, the recurring theme in Gracie's journal thoughts was What's your plan for me, Lord? Staring out at the waves as she prayed that question out loud since no one was around, she wished she could get a clear, audible answer telling her what to expect next.

In her studies, the Father had given her two verses that she wrote in her journal and read often:

Stand at the crossroads and look; ask about the ancient paths, Which one is the good way? Take it, and you will find rest for your souls. (Jeremiah 6:16)

Then Adonai answered me; he said, "Write down the vision clearly on tablets, so that even a runner can read it.

For the vision is meant for its appointed time; it speaks of the end, and it does not lie. It may take a while, but wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay." (Habakkuk 2:2–3)

In her lack of knowledge, wisdom, and experience, she couldn't yet see what the Father was trying to show her in these promises. It was too early in her story to understand, but in His perfect timing, she would finally see what was there all along.

For years, Gracie had wanted to locate and marry the man in her dreams but had no clue how to find him; the movies had made it seem so easy. She desired to marry an older man, not someone her age. Growing up in the mid-60s, she watched a lot of television that wasn't for kids. Her favorite shows turned out to be any movies with James Bond, 007. She thought he was beautiful, brave, strong, and the perfect hero. In her dreams of the ideal man, it was him, Sean Connery as James Bond 007. That kind of man would be her husband one day; she felt confident.

No one knew about her dreams of her soulmate except Adonai. She didn't give up hope that her beautiful, brave, strong, protecting soulmate would find her as he came charging in on a white horse, of course. Since that hadn't happened yet, she tried to appease her parents and date guys her age, but that didn't make her happy. She dated some older guys, too, but couldn't find her guy. She assumed that her dreamy version of him would have shown up by now. Wasn't he supposed to show up in time for her to get married right after high school? Maybe her dreams weren't realistic. Did Adonai put that dream in her heart, or did she just make him up from a TV movie crush as a child? As she sat there looking out at the waves, she thought, What does love even look like? Would I be able to recognize my soulmate when he showed up? Was I even ready for him? Her parents divorced when she was very young, so her examples of love were mainly in the movies. The personal experiences she had had in her life so far were not a good sign that she knew what to look for when looking for her love.

How was she to find her soulmate? What was her parents' idea of who was perfect for their daughter? Did it matter? Wasn't she supposed to follow her heart? That's what everyone always says, Follow your heart. When you do try to follow your heart, people show up quickly to tell you that's not the one for you. How do they know? Who is in charge of deciding who she needs? Is that something Adonai is interested in, or does He have more important things to worry about?

The beginning of wisdom is to understand the source of that wisdom. So how do I get wisdom? Gracie wonders.

It says in Proverbs 1:7, the fear (original Hebrew word for fear is yirah, meaning reverence) of Adonai is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Am I a fool? I don't think I despise wisdom, do I? Growing up, we have been taught the world's way, to follow our hearts. Adonai's word doesn't say to follow our hearts; it says to follow Him.

He tells us clearly in His Word to trust Him and follow.

Matthew 16:24 says, Then Jesus said to his disciples, If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me."

He is wisdom; we are not! Why would we trust our inexperienced, untrained, unwise hearts?

In Proverbs 3:5–6, it says, Trust in Adonai with all your heart; do not rely on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him; then he will direct your paths.

If we read and know His Word, His truth is right there to guide and encourage us. We are not to trust our hearts! We are to trust His! Why do we get impatient and try to do life without Him? All good questions, but it often takes a lifetime to figure out that the answers were in front of you the whole time, in the Bible, Genesis to Revelation. For Gracie, it would take a lifetime to learn the answers.

Gazing at the waves and the beautiful sunrise, Gracie smiled as she reflected on her childhood and her very first crush on a boy. At that time, she thought he was her first love—Joe, her first boyfriend, her third grade sweetheart. Doesn't every eight-year-old fall in love? Oh, the first love; back then, adults called it puppy love. What does that even mean? That never made sense to her. She wondered to herself, Do puppies fall in love with other puppies? Joe was so cute to her. He had a beautiful smile and unbelievably long eyelashes; she had a massive crush on him. At Christmastime, he surprised her and gave her a sweet little music box. It was a Hummel pull-string hanging musical box that his mom did a great job picking out; Gracie loved it. She recalled the box having a loop on one end and a pull string on the other. Gracie hung it on her bedpost and, while lying in bed, would pull it constantly to hear the music play until she drifted off to sleep. She cherished it and thought he must love her to give her such a special gift. It felt nice to be loved by a boy.

Gracie needed to believe that because she was suffering great heartache. Her parents had divorced the year before, and she was still reeling from the devastation of her daddy leaving. One day Gracie had a great idea; now that she had a boyfriend, she wanted to wear makeup to school with bright-blue eyeshadow like her mom wore. Her mom was against the idea, but Gracie wouldn't take no for an answer. She was a girly girl and had convinced herself that Joe would love it and think she was beautiful. The day didn't go as she had planned. After roll call, Gracie's teacher called her out in class and embarrassed her. The teacher told her that she was too young to be wearing makeup and needed to go to the bathroom and take it off. Everyone in the class laughed at her; it was horrifying for Gracie. She cried and cried in the bathroom, then had to face humiliation with her classmates the rest of the day; also, when she got home, her mom said, I told you so. She never wore makeup to school again until she reached middle school, but it affected her relationship with Joe.

Gracie could only assume that he was embarrassed that she was the talk of the class. She came in the next day, and he was sitting with another girl, talking to her and acting like she didn't exist. It seemed he had moved on. Gracie was devastated. That day she went home, pulled the string all the way out on her favorite music box, and cut it. She thought, That will show him! And then she cried herself to sleep. Her mom woke her up for dinner, but she didn't have an appetite. All she wanted to do was go back to bed and never get up again. How would she face everyone at school the next day? Joe, of course, never knew she had cut the string, and sadly when she had calmed down and wanted to play her music box again, it was too late; she no longer had her favorite music box to listen to as she lay in bed.

Gracie laughed and shook her head at the memory of that crazy time and her crazy idea. She always regretted making that emotional decision; she missed the music box. Many years later, she found one on eBay and bought it for sentimental purposes.

2

Not Meant to Be

Not wanting her morning God-time beach time to end, she watched the sun for the time instead of her watch; Gracie kept journaling.

Gracie's idea of love was very distorted after her parents' divorce. The natural way for her to cope with pain or loss was to withdraw immediately, causing her to become timid. As a result, people would often misread her shyness. Other kids made fun of her, thinking she was unsocial and unfriendly, believing she felt superior to them. That could not have been farther from the truth; however, the more they teased her, the more withdrawn she became. For years, she kept to herself, except when she was at church. Gracie loved learning about Adonai, and she loved to sing. She loved being there whenever the doors were opened, which seemed the only place she could find peace. Gracie didn't understand where that peace was coming from yet; she still had a lot to learn.

As a jogger ran past in the sand, Gracie's mind continued to wander as she thought of her second notable crush. When she was about fourteen, Gracie met an older guy at church and developed a huge crush; he was fifteen. After a few months of flirting and hanging out, he asked her to be his date at the Valentine's dance. It was a dance his school was hosting, and she was thrilled that he asked her because many girls wanted to be asked by him. Roger was super cute, tall, blond with blue eyes, and was a twin. He and his brother were very popular with all the girls not only because they were so cute, but also their dad owned the local pizza hangout that all the teenagers loved. That was a bonus; dating one of them meant free pizza too! Roger hadn't turned sixteen yet, so they needed someone to drive them to the Valentine's dance. Uninterested but forced to do so by her mom, Gracie's brother, Mark, drove them.

Mark was five years older than Gracie and loved to pick on her; he had done a great job of that as they grew up. In preparation for her highly anticipated date, Gracie begged Mark not to embarrass her in front of Roger. He promised he wouldn't; Gracie wasn't sure she could trust him but didn't have much choice. On the upside, her brother drove a brand-new sporty two-door Camaro, which she knew would impress Roger. The ride went off without a hitch; Gracie was so nervous that the butterflies in her stomach kept her quiet while listening to her brother and Roger talk about his car as they held hands in the back seat. Her hands were sweaty; she couldn't believe she was holding Roger's hand. It was a dream come true for this fourteen-year-old shy girl. The party went perfectly; it was a night for a happy princess with the cutest prince there. She was the envy of all the girls. It was a perfect first date for Gracie. Mark showed up afterward to take them home as planned. On the way back to Roger's house, Gracie wondered if he would kiss her before getting out of the car. They never got a moment alone during the party. With nervous chatter on the way to Roger's home, Mark pulled into the driveway and parked, then there was an awkward silence as they stopped talking about cars. Parked in Roger's driveway, both of them in the back seat of Mark's two-door sports car, there was an uncomfortable moment of silence for everyone. Roger wasn't sure how to handle the kiss with her brother sitting there but wanted to kiss her before he got out. The pause was more than Mark could take; Roger missed his moment as Mark couldn't behave any longer. Just as Roger was leaning in to kiss Gracie, her brother opened the car door, and the interior light came on. Roger jumped back away from Gracie as Mark said, Okay, good night.

His blue eyes and blond hair highlighted by his red blushing face, Roger looked at her and quickly exited the car, shutting the door behind him. As he promptly moved out of the vehicle, Gracie sat stunned as she watched Roger run toward the house. She wondered if she had ever seen a guy run that fast. Trying to wrap her head around that sight, Gracie popped her brother upside the head as she unceremoniously climbed over in her long dress to get in the front seat. Gracie was only four feet eleven, so it was pretty easy to maneuver through the bucket seats. She wanted to be mad at him for ruining her first date kiss, but Mark laughed so hard that Gracie couldn't help but start laughing with him. Why did you do that? I have been waiting all night for that kiss! she said nervously, unsure she was ready for it.

I couldn't resist. He should have made a move quicker, said Mark. It was an awkward silence. I had to break it. You're too young to be kissing anyone anyway. He laughed. As much as she wanted the kiss, she couldn't be mad because she was secretly scared of having not kissed anyone before. Gracie imagined what it might have looked like to get her first kiss with her brother watching in the rearview mirror. Roger wasn't sure if dating a girl with a brother like hers was something he wanted to do; he had too many other options from which to choose. Gracie was disappointed and hoped Roger would ask her on another date. A month later, he turned sixteen, and Roger got his own sporty Camaro and could then have any girl he wanted.

Gracie still had a crush on him and hoped he would revisit the idea of dating her. Sadly, she never got a chance to find out. As it turned out, Roger couldn't handle having such a fast car. While trying to impress the girls at the ballpark one night with his sporty driving skills, he caught a nearby curve too fast while speeding off and flipped the vehicle. Gracie and her friends witnessed the accident and ran toward his car to help. He not only totaled the car but lost his life instantly. Such a tragedy. Just like that, a beautiful life was over before it even started.

After losing Roger, Gracie had several guys ask her out, but no one interested her. After a while, she got so frustrated at not having a boyfriend that she gave up trying to find one. Someone told Gracie he would show up when she stopped looking so hard. So she decided to focus on school and work. Her first official job at fifteen was working at the local McDonald's. She got a lot of experience there but was more suited for an office environment. In high school, she began taking business classes and loved them. She excelled at typing and shorthand. Through one of her classes, she was able to find an office job working in a law firm. She enjoyed working but didn't give up on finding love. She decided to pray and trust Adonai to send her a boyfriend. He finally showed up the summer between her sophomore and junior year of high school. When Gracie fell for him, she fell hard. She couldn't help but fall in love with this guy. He was cute, funny, very talented, and loved Adonai. She liked him enough to give up her dream of her 007. She imagined them married and having a life together. He was only a year older, but she was crazy about him. Her plan was for him to be her husband, and they would live happily ever after because that's how all her love-story movies ended.

Growing up, Gracie remembered always hearing a paraphrased scripture that went something like this, Tell Adonai your plans, and watch Him laugh. She never understood what that meant until the first time she told Adonai her plans during her high school years. He indeed has plans for us, as stated in Jeremiah 29:11, but thankfully they are rarely anything like we have planned. Adonai's ways for us are a million times better than we could ever dream or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

In Gracie's dream, her perfect guy was much older than her. She believed he couldn't be her age if he were her knight in shining armor, her hero who would sweep her off her feet and take care of her forever. Beau didn't fit her dream-man requirements, but he certainly caught her eye and made her forget her dream details. They spent so much time together at church and with his family, hanging out. Gracie loved pretending they were already her family. At home, her brother was always gone with his friends, so Gracie was home with her mom, spending most of her time in her bedroom alone. Being with Beau and his family made Gracie very happy. As for dating, his dad wouldn't let them go on a date alone at sixteen and seventeen. With nine siblings, one was always sent to go with them so they couldn't be alone. It was okay, though; they still always had fun. Their favorite song was the new current-day hit single Endless Love by Lionel Ritchie and Diana Ross. Beau sang Lionel's part, and she sang Diana's part at the top of their lungs. When they were together, it seemed natural and endless. Beau made her so happy.

Gracie couldn't believe such a perfect guy had come into her life. That year