Our Love Divine (eBook)
164 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3509-4134-0 (ISBN)
Toya Raylonn Vickers was born in Toledo, Ohio. She was raised in Columbus, Ohio where she attended high school and college. She is an African American woman who loves to read and write. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from The Ohio State University and matriculated at Howard University to earn a Master's degree in Social Work. In 2003, exactly two months before she was to graduate there with top honors, she was involved in a life-threatening car crash. After a six-month hospitalization she returned to Columbus, Ohio and began the long road to recovery. But, unable to walk and obtain the master's degree with her classmates in 2003, she began writing again daily, a lost talent, while in her bed at Howard University Hospital. During her fight to regain her place in society she was diagnosed with mental health disease. But with God's strength, His courage, and His grace she began the road to healing and in 2006 she penned her first novel Dimes, Profiles, and Wives. She was first published in 2010 by Xlibris, then started her own imprint ToyShelf Services LLC in 2020. It was the first book of many to come for this author. She is a published poet and novice lyricist. She humbly writes to glorify God and encourage His children. She knows that even though her life has been filled with many obstacles she can still contribute to the world through her talent of writing. Toya Raylonn hopes through this God given talent more people will come to know who God is and believe in His love. 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me' - Philippians 4:13 The first verse in the Holy Bible her late mother Raylonn 'Cookie' Cox-Smith taught her to memorize at age 7. 'Toya Vickers is an excellent example of a writer who started off with just a story to tell, but with her persistent hard work and dedication, transitioned into a talented author.' - Joylynn M. Ross writing as BLESSEDselling Author E. N. Joy, - Ms. Vickers' mentor and writing coach.
Crystal is a woman who never should have made it to age 50. She carries a secret that even her family members do not understand and shunned her to stay away from them. Her daddy died when she was young, and her mother couldn't keep her liquor making Crystal her punching bag and a toilet for men twice her age when mama couldn't give them open legs like clockwork. The only constants in her life were Jesus and Jeremy. One of them was giving her a love so divine that it covered all faults, all wants and all needs. Yet and still, Regina had a way of coming out and messing everything up. Not this time though, nobody was going to stop Crystal from having her reward. Jeremy was her man and Jesus told her so. Regina would just have to die and stay dead long enough for Crystal to marry him. That's why the wedding dress was so exquisite. She had to look like Cleopatra and Queen Sheba all at once. This story will truly encapsulate anyone who reads it and who is interested in mental health afflictions.
One
Old love made new.
Regina’s Story
As the handcuffs fell from my hands and feet the doctor told me to sit on the couch in front of me. It was our weekly session, another hour or so, where I would tell him my truth and hopefully, they would let me out of this hellhole. Here came that doggone nurse with that shot. He looked at me from across his resolute desk. I gave Mr. President the same debriefing that I gave to my superiors.
Innocently enough, my man and I met one first Sunday while our Pastor was beginning to preach. Mama and I arrived late, yet for some reason she wanted to sit in the middle section instead of our regular seats on the left side of the sanctuary. I sat next to a handsome young man I never laid eyes on before, which was weird because I had been attending for over ten years. No sooner than I sat down, the young man jumped out of his seat and started shouting. He shouted a good shout too, and Pastor stared at him. He was all by himself, then, just as quickly as he jumped up, he sat down, overcome by the Holy Spirit.
I patted him on his back and said, “God is good,” and the Holy Ghost shot up within me and I jumped and started shouting too. Now everyone was looking at us like, what’s going on with you two? Pastor said, “Oh my, my, my, my,” and laughed.
That was over twelve years ago. He had one more year to propose, or I was done with this mess. We dated for three years after we met then decided we should just be friends. It was frustrating because he told me I was his ideal woman. That was within the first six months of our courtship. I started falling in love with him; however, the feelings were not mutual enough for us to sustain a serious romantic relationship. So, we became friends. Over time, my love waned, and I grew fond of another man and got engaged. When I told him about my engagement, he said he had to call me back because he needed a drink. That relationship lasted almost a year until I found out the man, I wanted to marry was a thieving, conniving, cheating liar.
Fortunately, I escaped that den of deception a little hurt but wiser. I stopped letting men in and started working on myself. As I worked on myself and my relationship with God, I watched my friend grow into a well-versed minister. While we were dating, we never had sex and he said it was because he wanted to wait until we got married. Then there were the rumors that he was on the down low, but he continued to profess to me that he was indeed heterosexual. I found out that he was in fact into women when we finally could not hold our lust for one another any longer and succumbed to the flesh. It was exhilarating. To me, he was powerful, he was special, he was the truth, he was Jeremy Marquis Spencer. But that was two years ago. We rekindled our relationship after a ten-year hiatus.
It had been several days since my thirty-sixth birthday when I got the shock of my life. He called me to give me birthday wishes and ask me out to dinner. I agreed because we were friends and I missed him. As I was sitting at the restaurant waiting for him, I checked my Facebook page to see all my birthday wishes and comments. I scrolled through them effortlessly until I got to his post. He said, Happy Birthday! I love you and I hope you have a wonderful day. I wasn’t surprised by the words I love you from him because we had already solidified that we loved each other in a friendship kind of way. What I was tripping on was the fact that he declared it in front of thousands of people on my page. I started to wonder, what in the world was going through his head now?
He showed up five minutes later and we hugged as usual. He sat and poured his heart out to me. He confessed that he had been naïve to let me go so many years ago and he was now trying to make sure he solidified what we had. He told me I meant the world to him and that I could never be replaced. He grabbed me by the hand and looked me dead in the eye and said, “I love you Regina and I can’t live without you.” I had a blank stare on my face but finally got the words out.
“What does all this mean, Jeremy?” I tried my best not to get excited.
He didn’t waste a beat. “It means I want us to start over and begin loving one another the way we do and build it into a love so divine that Satan himself cannot touch it.”
Why in the world did he say that?
“Are you asking for us to be a couple again?” My heart raced.
“Yes Regina, would you be my lady?” He was still holding my hand. I thought to myself, Girl, you finally got him!
“Yes, I will be your lady.” We went on eating our dinner and laughing and having an enjoyable time. It had been a couple of days, and I had a chance for it all to sink in. Now I realized my mistake. I should have given him the ground rules so he would know I wanted to get married before I was forty, which meant getting engaged by thirty-eight. I had time to get this information to him and let him cop out so I could be available for the man who was really supposed to be my husband. Who was I kidding? I had been dreaming about this man being my husband for over a decade. The Lord already told me after I fasted and prayed for days about our relationship that he was attached to my spirit and that the Lord would cultivate our relationship. Satisfied in that truth, I had been waiting but I was tired. Keisha called my phone.
“What heffa!” I shouted at my best friend because she was starting to irritate me. The repeated calls of her complaining about her crazy mama and her antics were getting on my last nerve. But I had to be there for my best friend because she’d been there for me in everything.
“My mama is getting crazy about this menu for my wedding. She thinks that just because she is paying for it, she can do whatever she wants. This is my wedding, Regina; doesn’t she know that?” She sounded frustrated. I had been hearing about this situation for the past couple of weeks and I was getting tired of it.
“Girl, you need to put your foot down and let Mama know this is your day, not hers. Let her know you appreciate all she is doing for you, but she has to let you express yourself in your one and only wedding.”
“I don’t know how she thinks she can dictate what we are supposed to do at our own wedding. She is so full of it, I swear. Then my cousin is tripping and talking about how she can’t afford to pay for her dress and that I should pay for it.”
I looked at the phone and decided I would listen because she already heard my opinion about letting her crazy cousin be one of her bridesmaids. Tonight, Jeremy and I were going to the movies, and I needed to put something in my stomach because those snacks at the movie theatre were too expensive. He would still get some popcorn and pops though; I knew him and most of his vices. I forgot Keisha was on the phone when she started yelling, “Hello?”
“Oh, I’m sorry girl, my mind was somewhere else.”
“You were thinking about that man again. All I gotta say is don’t get your hopes up too high. You know his track record. He ain’t all that.”
“I know but prayers have been answered.”
“I’d give that fool six months and if I don’t get a ring, I would be moving on for good and ending the friendship because that is too much nonsense.”
“This coming from the girl who moved in with her man after only four months of dating him.”
“I got my ring three months later, didn’t I?” she said proudly.
“Yeah, that is true.” I remembered how he surprised everyone, especially her worrisome mother by proposing just three months after she moved him into her condo.
“Patience is a virtue, but you have taken it to the extreme. Give that man an ultimatum before the end of this month so you will see exactly where it is he wants this to go.” She made her final statement.
“Okay, I think I’ll take your advice.” First, I would ask Mama and my other best friend who were actually married though. “Girl I’ll talk to you later.”
“Alright, have fun boo.” We hung up. A couple of hours later, Jeremy and I went to the movies. We had fun as usual then he wanted to go downtown to the waterfront and take a walk. We walked and talked and then I got the courage to say what was on my mind.
“Jeremy, you do know I want to get married.”
“Yes, I know sweetie. I am not going to string you along, I promise.”
“Yeah, but still though, I think if we set a time for us to make this official, to at least get engaged, it would settle my mind a little. We have been friends for a long time, and I know you say you want more and that’s what we are working on but I’m thirty-six years old and I want to be married before I turn forty.” I stopped walking and sat down on a bench. We watched the water glisten under the moonlight. He sat next to me as we discussed the elephant in the room.
“I understand what you’re saying. I think I can put your mind at ease by saying this. I am not just trying us on for size. I’m trying us on for life. I want you to be my wife for the rest of my life.” He grabbed my hand then kissed it. I looked at him and...
Erscheint lt. Verlag | 9.5.2024 |
---|---|
Sprache | englisch |
Themenwelt | Literatur ► Krimi / Thriller / Horror |
Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen | |
ISBN-13 | 979-8-3509-4134-0 / 9798350941340 |
Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
![EPUB](/img/icon_epub_big.jpg)
Größe: 1,6 MB
Digital Rights Management: ohne DRM
Dieses eBook enthält kein DRM oder Kopierschutz. Eine Weitergabe an Dritte ist jedoch rechtlich nicht zulässig, weil Sie beim Kauf nur die Rechte an der persönlichen Nutzung erwerben.
Dateiformat: EPUB (Electronic Publication)
EPUB ist ein offener Standard für eBooks und eignet sich besonders zur Darstellung von Belletristik und Sachbüchern. Der Fließtext wird dynamisch an die Display- und Schriftgröße angepasst. Auch für mobile Lesegeräte ist EPUB daher gut geeignet.
Systemvoraussetzungen:
PC/Mac: Mit einem PC oder Mac können Sie dieses eBook lesen. Sie benötigen dafür die kostenlose Software Adobe Digital Editions.
eReader: Dieses eBook kann mit (fast) allen eBook-Readern gelesen werden. Mit dem amazon-Kindle ist es aber nicht kompatibel.
Smartphone/Tablet: Egal ob Apple oder Android, dieses eBook können Sie lesen. Sie benötigen dafür eine kostenlose App.
Geräteliste und zusätzliche Hinweise
Buying eBooks from abroad
For tax law reasons we can sell eBooks just within Germany and Switzerland. Regrettably we cannot fulfill eBook-orders from other countries.
aus dem Bereich