For a while now, I’ve been working on how I would organize my thoughts to tell the world my story, and how it fits into The Story. So, I am going to post some excerpts on what will be a book someday. Any feedback would be great! My goal is to write the different sections through the perspective of different people involved – I want the reader to feel like they’re reading a good novel, not just an autobiography. I know I need to develop more the role God played in this part of Carrie's life, but feel free to give me pointers. I don't claim to be a good writer! And while this may never be submitted to a publisher, I will have it as a legacy and a present to my future children. So they can see how their story began…
Enjoy Part 1!
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She was 19. Carrie had lived a good and full life, and now it was even more complete. The 3rd of 4 daughters, she had accepted Jesus into her life. Life didn’t seem much different at first, but she had no idea the roller coaster ride she was in for.
During her 20th year, while at school to become a beautician, Carrie met a man. Not just any man, a wonderful man named Paul* who was the talk of the small New Jersey town because of his charm, good looks, and way with women. He would come by the mall where Carrie worked, and as she was talking to her friends, he would beam that charming smile that made them all giggle like 12 year olds. Finally, he asked Carrie out on a real date, and they hit it off. He owned his own restaurant, came from a good Italian family, had siblings and a plan for his future. Over the next few dates, Carrie decided she liked this man, although sometimes is stories didn’t add up. She could ignore that and overlook it, but there was one thing she couldn’t dismiss. His pressure to move forward sexually in ways she wasn’t willing to give.
As she started to get a little more nervous about the relationship, she found herself going out with Paul yet again. This night was different, though. He took her back to his place after dinner and poured her a glass of sweet wine; wine so good it went down without second thought. She didn’t realize, but Carrie’s glass never seemed to empty. And before she knew it, things were happening she didn’t want but was incapable of stopping.
She fled his house is shame and terror, after calling her dad, and she was staggering down the blustery winter road when her dad arrived in his car. Seeing how numb her emotions were, her dad guessed what happened, scooped her up in arms and drove her home. Back in the 1940s, rape was not something that was openly discussed. And in her family’s Catholic church, it was an embarrassment to the family. So nothing was discussed, and she never told the police. She was content to simply watch Paul vanish out of her life, never to touch her again. Carrie returned to school and her family life, determined to move on and forget her time with Paul. Especially after the family found out he was a pathological liar, which explained a lot of why his stories didn’t add up.
But the memory of Paul would live on, because a few weeks later, Carrie discovered something. She discovered a life growing inside of her. A little baby that 20-year-old Carrie could not support. She turned desperately to God, unsure of what to do. Her three sisters will tell you this day that all Carrie ever wanted in life was to be a mom. Here was her chance! But, after 8 months of fervent prayer, and working with her mom and dad to get a nursery all set up, she clearly heard God tell her that this baby wasn’t hers. There was another couple who had prayed desperately for a baby of their own, and this was the baby God wanted to give them. Much to her parents chagrin, Carrie announced she was giving the baby up for adoption.
And so in Carrie’s 21st year, she gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl. This girl would be held briefly by Carrie, and then by Carrie’s dad, before being handed off to the nurse and taken away, never to be seen by Carrie again. After a few weeks in a foster home, the call came. The little girl was flown to Grand Rapids, MI where a mom, a dad, and a 3-year-old boy were waiting for her.
And she was named Melinda Ann.
*name was changed to protect the individual
Enjoy Part 1!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She was 19. Carrie had lived a good and full life, and now it was even more complete. The 3rd of 4 daughters, she had accepted Jesus into her life. Life didn’t seem much different at first, but she had no idea the roller coaster ride she was in for.
During her 20th year, while at school to become a beautician, Carrie met a man. Not just any man, a wonderful man named Paul* who was the talk of the small New Jersey town because of his charm, good looks, and way with women. He would come by the mall where Carrie worked, and as she was talking to her friends, he would beam that charming smile that made them all giggle like 12 year olds. Finally, he asked Carrie out on a real date, and they hit it off. He owned his own restaurant, came from a good Italian family, had siblings and a plan for his future. Over the next few dates, Carrie decided she liked this man, although sometimes is stories didn’t add up. She could ignore that and overlook it, but there was one thing she couldn’t dismiss. His pressure to move forward sexually in ways she wasn’t willing to give.
As she started to get a little more nervous about the relationship, she found herself going out with Paul yet again. This night was different, though. He took her back to his place after dinner and poured her a glass of sweet wine; wine so good it went down without second thought. She didn’t realize, but Carrie’s glass never seemed to empty. And before she knew it, things were happening she didn’t want but was incapable of stopping.
She fled his house is shame and terror, after calling her dad, and she was staggering down the blustery winter road when her dad arrived in his car. Seeing how numb her emotions were, her dad guessed what happened, scooped her up in arms and drove her home. Back in the 1940s, rape was not something that was openly discussed. And in her family’s Catholic church, it was an embarrassment to the family. So nothing was discussed, and she never told the police. She was content to simply watch Paul vanish out of her life, never to touch her again. Carrie returned to school and her family life, determined to move on and forget her time with Paul. Especially after the family found out he was a pathological liar, which explained a lot of why his stories didn’t add up.
But the memory of Paul would live on, because a few weeks later, Carrie discovered something. She discovered a life growing inside of her. A little baby that 20-year-old Carrie could not support. She turned desperately to God, unsure of what to do. Her three sisters will tell you this day that all Carrie ever wanted in life was to be a mom. Here was her chance! But, after 8 months of fervent prayer, and working with her mom and dad to get a nursery all set up, she clearly heard God tell her that this baby wasn’t hers. There was another couple who had prayed desperately for a baby of their own, and this was the baby God wanted to give them. Much to her parents chagrin, Carrie announced she was giving the baby up for adoption.
And so in Carrie’s 21st year, she gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl. This girl would be held briefly by Carrie, and then by Carrie’s dad, before being handed off to the nurse and taken away, never to be seen by Carrie again. After a few weeks in a foster home, the call came. The little girl was flown to Grand Rapids, MI where a mom, a dad, and a 3-year-old boy were waiting for her.
And she was named Melinda Ann.
*name was changed to protect the individual
posted by Melinda @ 5:01 PM
1 Comments:
At 9:35 PM,
jlyn said…
i really enjoyed this. god seems to be calling. don't run
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