The Little Girl Within -- God's Mysterious Ways

God is intricately writing our stories, but sometimes it is hard to see what He is doing.  Today, Mary Schiller shares her “Little Girl Within” story, a touching story of redemption and God’s grace.   Thank you, Mary, for openly sharing your heart with us and reminding us that the Lord does bring beauty from ashes.
 _______________

 "The little girl within" was happy and showered in love. (Perhaps even a tad spoiled!) I arrived in my family at a time when most parents would have been contemplating their approaching empty nest.  My oldest brother was 21, attending college and engaged to be married the following year.  The middle one was 19 and in the Navy.  It was 1947 so he was involved with cleaning up the mess of war in Japan.  The youngest, who had been dubbed the tag-a-long, was almost 12, well on his way to adulthood.  And then came me, the long-awaited little girl, apple of my daddy's eye.

    My daddy was a minister of a very strict church with lots of rules and regulations about how to please God and eventually be good enough for Heaven someday.  As long as I abided by those rules things were fine and "the little girl within" did just that. But then that little girl began to grow and yearn for forbidden things.  The cravings began with nail polish and lipstick then escalated to blaring rock and roll music and glossy teen idol posters plastered around my room.  My dad was into "saving" long-haired bad boys in black leather on Harleys.  He would take them places, visit them if they landed in jail and even provide them with a roof over their heads when their parents had their fill and kicked them out.  Little did he know they were supplying me with all the cigarettes I could smoke (major sin) whenever his head was turned.

    When I was 16 I found one of those long-haired Harley riders for myself and by 17 was married to him. I loved my dad dearly and was able to reconnect with him later in life, but it took me a really long time to forgive him for not realizing just how much I needed his guidance in the turbulence of my teen years.  In his mind I had been raised right and that should have been enough.

    God used this rebellious teen girl and a boy already fighting mental demons and about to embark in the battle of his life with Huntington's Disease to bring forth 2 beautiful daughters and 6 wonderful grandchildren who have all accepted Him into their hearts. Our oldest grandson is in college preparing for ministry.  I can truthfully say God has worked in a mysterious way to bring about His will in my life and create beauty from the ashes of my mistakes.

_______________ 

Mary Schiller enjoys reading.  As a former Sunday school teacher and church librarian, she desires to help children walk with the Lord and is currently involved in Awana at Calvary Bible Church in Neenah.  On of her daughters, Lori Jones, also shared her “Little Girl Within” story, A Kept Promise, here.   Mary resides in Neenah, Wisconsin.

If you have a Little Girl Within story that you would like to share in order to encourage others, I would love to hear from you. Guidelines for submission are at the bottom of the post for the start of the series here.