My Adventure in Self-Publishing

What wonderful, thoughtful, inspiring comments... and so many potential good story and book ideas, too! I heartily encourage everyone to check out the Guideposts Inspiring Voices Book Publishing Contest, which just kicked off on February 1st! (Link to Inspiring Voices home page: www.inspiringvoices.com.)
Good luck to all, and God bless!
Blessings Always,
Kitty Slattery
Web: www.KathrynSlattery.com
Facebook Author Page: Kathryn "Kitty" Slattery

I have been writing letters to my grandchildren every week for ten years. They are scattered in four different states and unless I wrote about their rich christian heritage, some of them would never know. They and some personal friends have strongly suggested I should put them into a book. I've divided them into the seasons of my life. Spring: growing up; Summer: marriage to successful pastor, 4 children; Autumn: husband died in plane crash, widow for 23 years, worked in several countries with Campus Crusade teacher conferences, speaker for Stonecroft Christian Women's Clubs; Winter: friend from college (class of '51)now retired pastor and I married with all 44 of combined families happily on platform with us, pastor grandsons performed the ceremony, at 85 and 81 years old we are still in ministry, he in counseling pastors and wives and me still speaking to women's meetings. I would like to publish the letters to my grandchildren that focus on some incredible stories. I was an elementary school librarian and I LOVE to tell stories. I hope you will think my stories would have a wide audience. Thanks for giving me consideration. memaw ernie

Let Me Tell You A Story

I am writing this story in hopes it will give encouragement to those who have faced serious disappointment. For those who are struggling through a loss of a loved one, and for those who think no one cares about them.

I want to first give you a little history behind these miraculous events that has touched and changed my life forever. I am not anyone special, just an average person who came from an average home. We weren’t a Christian focused home but we were seasonal Christians and always said grace before eating. We never attended church on a routine basis but we all knew about God.

My family was very small and when I look back somewhat dysfunctional. My mom was never very close to anyone except my older brother. She had a negative attitude regarding the world yet she was a nurse. Her sister was much the same way but later found out as I became older that these two women were just struggling through life for they had never really known love. They were the real children of a family that had 26 foster children in their home.. Let’s face it no one can be shown love in that sort of environment or made to feel special.

My father and his twin brother were so very much alike. There was a special connection there that I shared with them for when I lost my father in a construction accident, I was 13y.o both his brother and myself became deathly ill at the time of the accident. We found the details out later when convening with family.

The reason I am including all of this information is to show that God doesn’t have favorites. He just loves you for you. I was so devastated when my Dad had died I felt so all alone. My mom and brother seemed to grieve together but I had been so close to my Dad that I truly felt very much alone. My uncle saw how I was struggling so he took it upon himself to stop by the house after work every evening to see how everyone was doing. He helped me so much as he would bring me back to his home on weekends
Where he and his wife would take me places and would just sit and talk.

My Dad had been my very best friend and was always positive. He always would tell me whatever I put my mind to I would be able to do when I grew up. That wasn’t the case with my Mom for after Dad had died whenever I said I wanted to be a veterinarian when I grew up I was always told I was not smart enough. So needless-to-say we didn’t have the greatest re-pore. Since my mom was a nurse I just couldn’t ever see myself being someone like that so I opted to take business courses in High School to become a CPA after leaving school.

I had already been working in a real estate office doing books when I had received news my uncle had been taken to the hospital after being unable to move upon waking on this March morning in 1972. Upon his arrival and a battery of tests they found him to have terminal cancer. The cancer was everywhere, brain, bone, eyes etc. Well, after hearing this news I was so distraught I just fell on my knees and started crying and praying, asking God to please take me not him. I felt that I couldn’t handle losing my Dad again. I just couldn’t stop asking God for this when all of a sudden I felt these arms come around me. I was very much alone but those arms and the feeling of peace that they conveyed, I just knew it was God. I heard a voice at that time that said “Barb everything will be okay you’ll see””. Other than thinking I was nuts… I did not doubt the voice nor the feeling of complete calm and peace during this time. I never ever in my life ever felt such a feeling and haven’t since. Anyway, all I knew was I trusted that voice and I didn’t think any more about what had happened.

The next day my Aunt called asking if I would come and stay at the hospital at night with my uncle. She said he would become confused not knowing where he was when he would wake. Of course I took leave right away and started staying with him that very night. All I can say is God knew what he was doing for during the six weeks my uncle lived, he was so miserable and in so much pain. I saw how the nurses didn’t want to give him pain medication as often as the physician had ordered for they were afraid it would be his demise. They saw how much pain he would have when he was touched so they would leave him lay in a wet/soiled bed. I saw that and I would do what I could change linens, wipe off his face, feed him, let him know I was there. As I watched this transpire I realized that I could do a much better job than what I was seeing in his care. That’s when the little voice returned saying.. you can’t doing books in a real estate office. With that voice I then knew I had to be a nurse to help people and prevent as much suffering as possible.

I told my uncle the very next day what I was going to do and he cried like a baby.
He then looked at my aunt and told her “you give this girl just whatever she needs to get her through school”. A few days later my uncle expired and we left for central Illinois for his funeral. This is, were the whole year of miracles started. First of all God has one wonderful sense of humor for how ironic is it that I wanted nothing to do with nursing and bam, I’m going to be a nurse, then to go to the very nursing school and apply where both my mom and her sister had graduated from. Yes, I do see the humor in the plan. Anyway, while doing the interviews I was informed at that tine that the class was full and there was a two year waiting list. I was also short a semester of chemistry and microbiology. I thought no problem I’d go back home and continue working saving my money and picking up those requirements I still needed.

Here’s where you see the real miracle happen. I received a call in early August asking me if I could come down for their fall class. They told me at that time that they decided to double their class for the first time ever and there had been a couple of cancellations so they had room for me. I asked at that time what about the semester of chemistry and microbiology. They told me not to worry about it that they could wave that. I have never ever heard of criteria that could be waved, They did however and I couldn’t have ever had a more fulfilling and wonderful career helping and giving encouragement to those that needed it with this story I am telling you.

Not only did that fall into place but financially the first year the owner of the construction company where my Dad had been killed said he would pay for my expenses. He was good to his word then he died after that first year of a massive cerebral aneurysm. So my Aunt picked up the torch and continued to help me financially till I was through school. I don’t think I ever could have made it had it not been for all the miraculous things that happened that year.

God knew what he was doing by allowing me the circumstances he did, for it made me more compassionate, caring, loving, and appreciative of whatever happens in life. God gave me a special gift that I could share and pass on to others who where going through trials, not believing there was a God, that if God cared for someone like myself , he certainly would care and love them. He allowed me the opportunity to share this story with so many in my line of work. I believe it helped in easing their suffering and gave them peace at the biggest trial of their lives. I have to thank God for giving me such a gift to share, so others will learn of his compassion, caring, love, his faith in his children to do the right thing when given the chance, as well as to validate that yes, he loves each and every one of us no matter where we come from or what we think we want to accomplish in our lives. He just grins at our plans and allows us the choice to be with him for eternity or not. I choose to be with that feeling that I would never be able to express, that feeling of utter love and peace. That feeling I want to have always in my life. That feeling I know is from God my Lord.

I pray this message helps those who are going through trials, those who feel alone, those who are at that point in their life where they are dying, those that don’t know what to do in their life, those that feel they have to change to survive, to all those that hear that voice and feel that peace and may not know what decision to make. I hope this gives the encouragement you need at this time for this is not a coincidence. Just trust him and you will never be sorry.

I want to thank you my father for giving me the faith to believe in your voice, your love and showing me how truly amazing you are in making a plan come together. Until I am able to serve you in heaven I will never stop telling of your grace and mercy in my life.

I HOPE YOU WANT TO HELP OTHERS WITH WITH WHAT GOD DID FOR ME. I USED MY STORY MANY YEARS TO HELP THOSE WHO WHEE DYING,THE GREIVING FAMILIES,THOSE WHO DIDN'T HAVE FAITH AT ALL.