My story: ‘Whispers of God’

“To this world, you will never be enough, but with God, you are always more than enough” (Whispers of God, Chapter 4). 

When I was a five-year-old girl, if you would have told me that my future consisted of trauma, a divorce, abuse, bullying, a near-death illness and an eating disorder that almost killed me (after the near-death sickness), I would never have believed you—until it actually happened. 

I never expected the troubles of life to hit me so hard. There have been so many times in my journey to where I am today where I questioned it all and asked God, “Why me?” During times of severe trial, it is so easy to get tired and lose endurance in the race that God sets before us. It wasn’t until I realized that I was asking the wrong question all along that I discovered that God has actually been fighting for me. Instead of asking “why me?” when times get hard, I know that God can use me for His goodness, despite all the messiness of the world. 

“Whispers of God” is my personal testimony as to how God has worked throughout my life amidst the chaos and hardship that I have experienced. Instead of letting the trials of my life crush me, I was able to let God transform me into someone I never thought I would become, and I have never felt closer to Him in my life. After looking back and finally getting a glimpse into how God has worked in my life through the storms, I felt a strong call to share my story. Although vulnerability is hard, it’s truly what brings us closer to each other and to God. I always knew there was a reason for my suffering; I just hadn’t known why. 

To read the book and learn more about the transformative power of Jesus through my story, you can check out Amazon and Barnes & Noble online. There is a hardcover version, a softcover version and an e-book! 

The publishing process was a long, tough one. I wrote the book and didn’t even read it before I submitted it. I honestly didn’t think about publishing it until one random night when the thought crossed my mind. As far as I was concerned, these were just words on pages that felt inspired by the love of the Holy Spirit. On that night, I said a little prayer and submitted my manuscript to multiple publishing companies. It took about four weeks to hear back from all of the companies, and my manuscript had been accepted with some companies and declined with others. However, I was astonished when I got a deal with Westbow Press, a division of HarperCollins, Thomas Nelson and Zondervan! It was a long process to figure out if I wanted to accept the deal or not, but after thoughtful prayer, all of the signs just aligned to proceed. 

From there, publishing consisted of many, many conversations with consultants for editing, design, marketing and production. The first phase was editing, which took the longest. I would edit some, and the editor would edit some. It was almost like playing phone tag with a book! Once the editing stage was complete, I was able to start working with consultants on the design. 

I am fortunate to have a best friend who is also a designer. Caleigh Miller, my best friend and roommate (and a back spot in cheer!), designed my cover for me. I had professional photographs taken by Tabitha Fouch. The design was fun; it was hard to choose whether or not to use a picture! After lots and lots of planning and designing, we figured that the perfect picture would be of me looking up at balloons, to signify looking up at God and letting go of my past, as you would let a balloon go into the air (I know, a little deep for a book cover)! 

After the design was finalized, one more editorial stage was completed to ensure there were no lingering mistakes. Once my editor and I approved the final book, inside and out, I signed a paper and production began! A few days later I got a call from my publishing consultant congratulating me. I checked Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and there my book was. It was the most surreal moment of my life. 

It is still hard to comprehend that I am a published author! Every time someone sends me a picture of their book, I have the most intense feelings of gratitude and love. 

Although the publishing process was hard, I would do it again in a heartbeat. Sharing your story is extremely difficult, but God works through our difficult times to show little signs that He is with us, and I hope that my story can do just that. God is so great, and I hope that my story can touch people in ways that they have never experienced before. I hope that my story can share the love of God with others, and inspire people to persevere, no matter how hard life gets.