The Road To Me- I Now Know Why That Caged Bird Sang, is an exploratory autobiography of a woman who has known abandonment, cancer, abuse, domestic violence, foster care, love and loss in many forms. Jessica Angelique is a very special woman. She has been to the depths of pain and loss and yet she has not built her life on dispair. She has also known love and life; and yet, she has not had a smooth storybook ending. This is a woman who deserves a great two- sided love which will be built out of mutual respect, admiration, decency and purpose.
Her life as a young child can be described as, one horror after another. Her definition of family was redefined by her experiences. She considers one certain foster family to be her parents and that would be Barb and Dave. Jessica considers their children Tony and Alyssa her brother and sister.
They were a foster family that had the care of Jessica within their family for one blissful year. They accepted her as their own until the foster care system decided to end her stay there. The tragedy is that she doesn’t know their last name or, what city in Indiana that they lived in. To top it off…the system will not allow her to try to trace them or contact them. It would be an amazing miracle to find them after all of these years. Her heart aches to reconnect with them and to tell them of their impact on her life. They gave her gifts that they may not realize that they bestowed upon the young girl who had never known unselfish love and acceptance. How different would her life have been had she been allowed to put down roots in this family and grown to flourish and flower? Read the rest of this entry…
This book is one that I have been waiting to read for some time now. Messenger-The Legacy Of Mattie J. T. Stepanek and Heartsongs is the story, behind the story, of Mattie Stepanek who was a young author of poetry and prose. He was also an ambassador for the MDA, Muscular Dystrophy Association. He believed that God gave him a mission of passing on the message of peace and hope to the world. He took his mission very seriously, in fact, so seriously that he often put his physical and emotional discomfort aside to spread the message to all who would stop and listen. He often reminded people ” to play after the storm”. Everyone weathers storms of one kind or another throughout their lives…it is easy to forget to play, to laugh, to love and to enjoy the moments after one of those storms. Mattie never forgot and he never forgot to remind others to do the same.
Many people did stop and listen because Mattie’s personality and the way that he delivered that message of hope, love, and peace was such that he was very engaging. I remember seeing him on talk shows and news programs and being very impressed by him. He was a gifted writer and a deep thinker. He knew, communicated and worked alongside of celebrities like Oprah, presidents like Jimmy Carter, media personalities like Chris Cuomo, or musicians like Christopher Cross, actors like Sean Austin from the Harry Potter movies, champions like firefighters and advocates, like Jerry Lewis, for those suffering with muscular dystrophy and everyday people; to share his message of peace and hope. I am grateful for and respectful of his sacrifices while delivering the message he bore in his heart. That is commitment.
He suffered much in his physical affliction. He suffered much emotionally at the loss of his siblings. He was loved and guided by a mother named Jeni who not only raised her child to be so special but also recognized that he had something to accomplish in the short time that he was given to live here on Earth. I think that she is pretty inspirational too. She lost all four of her children to this disease and she lives with it herself. She has not let it stop her from living her best life or from continuing to spread the message that God put on Mattie’s heart while he lived. Surely God will bless her for continuing to be faithful in her love for him inspite of all of the challenges that her family has faced.
Mattie Stepanek was a young man with an amazing personality and wisdom far beyond his 13 years. He lived his best life to the fullest by fulfilling his purpose to the best of his ability. I think you will be blessed by this behind the scene’s story of Mattie’s life and mission. You will be blessed by reading any of Mattie’s writings, his series of books called Heartsongs. I dare you to read them and not be changed in some positive kind of way!
If you want to learn more or are interested in one of his books you can go to the site that was set up for Mattie before his death here: http://www.mattieonline.com/ .
Rainy’s Recommendations
