By Tonya Christine Hewitt

Life Hurts, God Heals:

A Diary Devotional

Janey is having a hard time with forgiveness. She challenges herself to read the bible more as she is hoping it will help her forgive even though she struggles with it. Can it also help her let go of her resentment of her past against her dad? This book reads like a diary and it is a personal diary for all life’s struggles that you have to face just as Janey faces them. But she knows God is always there, no matter what.

Excerpt:

Chapter One

Hedge of Protection

 

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth, He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.”

Psalm 121 KJV

 September 14, 2019

I don’t know if you ever heard the hedge of protection prayer before but my mom would say it before we went anywhere. If she hadn’t who knows where we would have been before that car accident.

Let me introduce myself; my name is Janey Carver. I am thirteen years old, long dark hair, and blue eyes. And normally, I don’t have to wear a cast but when the accident happened I had to have surgery on my leg cause when the wreck happened the air bag imploded causing it to have too much pressure on my leg. There was some big recall on our van and we never knew it but Mama said it could have been worse. I am trying to be like her and see the positive side of things but sometimes it’s just so hard.

Her injuries were way worse than mine but still she seems to be handling it okay. The steering wheel crushed her collarbone and she chipped a bone in her leg when the driver’s side window broke, having a shard of glass enter into it. She had to have surgery to remove it but thankfully, she was okay. I don’t know how I could get by if it was not for my mom.

You may have wondered how we got into an accident. A guy that had a little too much to drink got behind the wheel and when the light turned green my mom went and so did the other guy plowing right into her. She had the nerve to pray for him, too. I can’t believe she did that but she explained it to me that maybe that guy never had anyone tell him about Jesus and that he needed Jesus just as much as we did. She reminded me of Saul and how he became Paul.

See Saul was a guy who persecuted Christians, including one named Stephen. But God sent this light that blinded him and this guy Saul turned his life around and became Paul. He was now working for the glory of God instead of against it.

Maybe she was right but I didn’t feel like giving that guy a chance. I felt like screaming at him; telling him he made me miss my year to march in the band. I know I was acting like the story of Jonah rather than Saul but surely, God understood. He understood everything.

I mean, sure, there is always next year but still, I am glad that guy is in jail, where he belongs, I thought to myself. But no, my mom insisted we go tell the pastor to visit him and witness to the guy and I dared didn’t think he deserved that. But you can’t change my mom’s mind about anything no matter what.

Don’t get me wrong. My mom has a temper. It just takes longer to build up than most people. She is always reminding me Jesus died for everyone, not just us.

I wonder about that sometimes. No, I am not doubting He died for us. I know He did but I wonder how could He stand to die for people who hated Him and mocked Him. I guess He loved us that much. But it amazes me that such a thing like that occurred.

My therapist says I need to keep a diary. That the wreck caused me to be bitter and angry. Hmm, well, I think I have a right to feel sorry for myself. But writing does help. So that is why I am starting this one. Why am I seeing a therapist you ask? Well, after the wreck, a counselor came and saw me. And the hospital is making me see a therapist to deal with the trauma. They said it was normal for me to feel anger inside and they wanted me to express it so I would have to start a diary.

If it is so normal, like they say, I wonder why in the world, they treat me like fragile glass.

To be like my mom, I am forcing myself to read a verse each day to help me through the day. I know Jesus loves everybody but I think I should get a little extra sympathy dealing with what I had to deal with. Is that being selfish? I don’t think so. I think it is being reasonable.

I was supposed to be playing the clarinet this year in band and next month was homecoming! I thought Brad Swafford might ask me to the dance but no one is going to ask a ‘crippled girl’ to dance.

The doctors are saying it will take time for my leg to heal. Time. Sigh. I was beginning to hate that word. They said, maybe by December. Gee, so does that mean I get to miss out on Halloween and Thanksgiving? I am too old to trick-or-treat this year anyway and what is there to be thankful for on Thanksgiving, anyways. I chided myself, hearing a small voice saying, my mom and I lived. That is really a most thankful gift.

Oh, yeah, sometimes I forget being so angry that there is a wondrous thing to be thankful for.

My mom always said night prayers with me. And she insists on the adlib words of at the end of the prayer, “There’s no death.”

And God answered our prayer that day. So I should be thankful. For a lot. Even though, sometimes I forget to be so thankful. It is hard when you are stuck in a cast boot but yeah, it could have been worse. A lot worse.

What are you thankful for? The Hedge of Protection Prayer has always meant a lot to me. God is always there for us -No Matter What!

Date:

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LIfe Hurts, God Heals: A Daiary Devotional

Book 1

Release Date: January 16, 2020

Number of Pages: 138

Self-Publish through Amazon KDP

Language: English

ISBN-13: 978-1654838768

Meet The Author

Tonya Christine Hewitt

I have wanted to be a writer ever since I was 8 years old. I grew up a Navy brat, moving around A LOT! I lived on the navy base in Norfolk, Va, Groton, Ct, Mobile, Al and probably numerous other states as well, so it was hard making friends, being as shy as I was. I did have a close friend in Norfolk named Jennifer. We became friends because just like my characters in Different Colored Dreams we had the same lunch box of Rainbow Brite. We were huge fans of the cartoon. But then, once, again I had to move.

  But we moved to Cleveland, TN and that is where my grandparents and cousins lived. I started going to Hopewell Elementary and I got to stay long enough where I had a favorite teacher, Mrs. Armour. She read us books from Judy Blume and E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web. She introduced me to my love of books. My dad finally retired and we got to stay here!

  But it was not till my teacher took us to the library for reading time, we got to listen to the librarian read us a book. This was no ordinary book. It was a 12 year old girl who wrote her dad a story for being in the army. I felt a connection to her. This girl was four years older than me but I felt I could write a book, even at my young age. I was hooked. I read and wrote all I could. I was determined to accomplish my dream. I promised my mom I would dedicate my first book to her and that I did. A Mystical Journey, the first book I ever self-published, came out in 2009 and six years later, I reformatted it and then, I felt like I had to write all I could!

  God gave me my talent and inspires me each and every day and blesses me with so much. My mom will always be my number one fan but sadly, she passed away in 2013. Many books I have written are dedicated to her memory. Lots of my ideas come from wanting to make presents for people and seeing them smile from the story I have written. The words always seemed rather magical to me and I love that writing can take me wherever imagination roams.

 I co-write a series with my best friend, Trisha King under the pen name Larissa Moon. We love that you stopped by our site to find out more about us and our writing!