“Many strong, courageous, and inspiring women have passed in and out of my life, from my mom, to teachers, to people I have known for mere moments on the subway or in a beauty shop. In these brief words, I wish to talk about one of these women, who inspired me to rise above adversity and move forward with life, with love, with strength of mind and spirit.
In her mid twenties, she found herself a single mom with two children—two children who were blind. She worked full-time and had support from a few family members like an older sister, and from some people at church, yet that was for things like someone to watch one of the girls when they were too ill to go to school, not to keep the house spotless, help with homework, put meals on the table. She managed all of that and more. She read to her girls and she made their lunches; she sang in the church choir, and she did other things to help people.
Even later, when she remarried, she didn’t stop working nor ensuring her family ate nourishing, homemade meals, that the laundry was done, and her girls received the support through reading schoolwork and other materials necessary. She made it to parent-teacher meetings and school events, and, although she wasn’t a home room mother, she never failed to provide baked goodies for school parties.
Perfect? No. Always cheerful? No. She was human with faults and weaknesses, which makes her all the more inspiring. She was a woman of faith, who ensured her daughters grew up with a faith strong enough to set them on their way in life—and more. She provided an inspiration of, “Yes, you can,” when life seems impossible.
Without this strong woman’s influence in my life, I know I would not be where I am today.
Looking back at some dark times in the past couple of decades, I know her prayers protected me even when I turned my back on God and those who cared about me most. Without her life story as an influence, I would never have kept going after what I wanted and see my dreams of becoming a published author coming true. Of all the strong women who have touched my life, this one’s influence is the greatest.”
Award-winning author Laurie Alice Eakes does not remember a time when books did not play a part in her life. Besides selling eight other books in the “sweet” historical romance market and CBA publishers like Barbour Publishing and Baker/Revell, she has also sold articles and essays. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and assorted cats and dogs, but is soon moving to Texas, where her husband will begin his law career.
To read her latest news, opinions and a free story at http://www.seizethechance.blogspot.com
http://www.lauriealiceeakes.com
Thanks, Laurie–Lyn
