Living Without Limits II: Tried By Fire

By Tesa Terry

Is he or she God's choice or your choice?

Living Without Limits propels people to seek and trust God in every area of their lives. Readers obtain valuable life-changing lessons that will inspire them to live lives that are pleasing to God. They will experience an inside view of how He strategically leads, guides, and directs this

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Dec 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685567323

Tesa Terry

Tesa Terry published her first book, Living Without Limits, in 2006. She has published work in a daily devotional and several magazines. She holds a BA degree in social service with a concentration in Christian ministry and an MS degree in leadership. Being a hairstylist for thirty-two years allowed Tesa to minister the gospel to men, women, and children. Through her ministry, she has been able to lead souls to Christ.

Book preview

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all the people who pick it up and take the time to read it. My prayer is that you allow God to heal you, deliver you, and make you free from everything that’s keeping you from living life more abundantly.

Amen.

Acknowledgments

would like first to thank You, God, for choosing and trusting me to write this book. I couldn’t have done it without You. I give You all the honor, all the glory, and all the praise. You are an awesome God, and You reign forever.

I would like to thank my three wonderful blessings, Deandre, Devin, and Lauryn, for allowing me to be me and truly loving me unconditionally. You guys have always supported and pushed me. Aside from God, you are what keeps me pressing on. You are my heart, and I love you and appreciate you. I couldn’t have asked for better children. You guys are the best.

Mom, you are always in my heart. I miss you so much. Your words are forever ringing in my ears. (You can do this, Tesa. Follow your dreams, Tesa. I’m so proud of you, Tesa. You can do anything you put your mind to, Tesa, with hard work.) You are absolutely right. I’m proud to be Darnell’s daughter.

To my sisters, Tamyra and Tasha: look to God! He has answered so many of our prayers. You guys have always believed in and supported me 110 percent. I love you.

To my godsister Tequila Grant: you have stuck with me through my good and my bad, and you have never judged me. I truly thank God for you. You are the best assistant ever and an awesome woman of God. Thank you for being patient with me and helping me with these assignments. I don’t think you realize how important your gift has been in my life. I appreciate you. You are heaven-sent.

Thank you, Marsh Cassidy, for inspiring me to keep writing. I watched you write book after book in my youth, not knowing that one day, I would become an author. Thank you for helping edit this book. Rest in peace.

Chapter One

Growing Pains

Things started getting tough financially in California. I was still making good money, but my husband, Luke, was not. The music industry was slow in San Diego. He played for one church, and that was pretty much his only income for a while. He was new in town and still basically an unknown. That’s hard for a talented musician, who’s used to having work all the time, to adjust to. He tried to tap into everything he could musically, but it just wasn’t working for him. I was tired of doing hair and making the bulk of the money. The reality was I had been in my career for fourteen years, and he was in a new city, starting from scratch. I was making really good money, averaging at least $5,000 a month.

California is a very expensive place to live. It is clear, pretty, and the sun shines most of the time. The shopping, ladies, is awesome! San Diego has most of the top-notch stores. Oh, and the beaches are awesome too: pretty blue water, green grass for picnics, everything you’d want in a vacation, and I dare not forget the jet skiing and a wonderful variety of restaurants. My husband didn’t like it at first, but it grew on him.

He definitely was not used to seeing so many different ethnicities and interracial marriages. He said that he had hardly ever seen any of that being raised in the South. It was second nature to me. He was amazed that our boys had Caucasian friends, Hispanic friends, and Oriental friends coming to our house regularly, and so did I. He made a comment once, something like, You have different races of people who really love you and have your best interest at heart. He’d never experienced that before. He felt as if he had been sheltered to some degree by his southern upbringing. Soon, Luke made some friends and really started to get used to San Diego. But living there was just too expensive for our income. We were living in a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment, and the rent alone was $1,500. It was nice and in an upscale neighborhood, which is what I was used to. We had two growing boys who were both involved in sports and other activities. They were exceptionally good at sports, but that can get expensive too. Things were still good between us even though we were struggling. (Love conquers all, right? I can’t hear you, right?)

I know some of you are asking, What’s love got to do with it?

Ha ha, ha.

I got pregnant about a year or so after we were married. We were excited but were struggling badly. Now, our apartment had barely enough room for the four of us. My first thought, after all the excitement, was, Where are we going to live, and how are we going to increase our finances to take care of the new addition to our family? I’m the type of person who thinks, If there is a will, there’s a way, and if there can be a problem, well, there definitely has to be a solution. You can’t have one without the other.

I was still working at the salon like a Hebrew slave and pregnant. Being a stylist is very hard work. We never get enough credit for what we do. We try to enhance people’s beauty, give them wise counsel when they share their heart-wrenching stories, work long hours, and stand on our feet all day. We might eat lunch if our clients let us. Don’t get me wrong: I love what I do because I get to minister to people all day. I’m just saying stylists need a little love and attention sometimes too. Go and buy your stylist or counselor a gift and let them know that you truly appreciate them. Customer service is not always easy. It is extremely hard to please some people.

Okay, back to the story.

While I was working in the salon one day, four and a half months pregnant, my stomach started hurting. It was so painful that I had to go home and lie down. Next, I started cramping every eight to ten minutes, and I knew something was wrong. I got up and went to the bathroom and discovered that I was spotting. I was home by myself; Luke was working at the studio, and he wasn’t picking up his phone. I called the hospital and was told that I might be having a miscarriage, judging by my symptoms. They told me to come in, but Luke had the truck, so I had to call one of my play sisters who worked at the salon with me. She came and drove me to the hospital. The pains were coming more rapidly and more intensely. My sister was scared because every time another pain hit, I screamed.

I was definitely in labor. Never in my life had I felt pain like that. The pains were terrible! I’m not used to being in labor without those good drugs. You know what I’m talking about, mothers. Okay, so some of you may have had your children naturally, and I am so happy for you. You are stronger women than I am. As for me, every time I had a child, I told the doctor, Bring on the drugs! I cannot tolerate this type of pain. Yes, I am weak when it comes to having children, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Drugs were created for a reason.

My sister had this little compact car, so I couldn’t lie down or stretch out. Instead, I was stuck in one position, screaming my lungs out. My poor sister was so very scared. If only you could have seen how big her eyes were and how stiffly she was driving. Now that I look back on it, that part was funny. Just picture it. She is mixed Black and Asian, and her eyes have a slant to them. Well, that day, I couldn’t see any slant at all! (Sister, forgive me for sharing this, but you should have had to see what I saw while I was screaming. I love you and thank you for taking care of me.)

We finally got to the hospital, and they were taking a very long time to tend to me. I was trying really hard to be quiet, but the pain was excruciating. I couldn’t stand it, so when the next pain hit, I did what any other pregnant woman would. I screamed and cried. People started staring, and, I guess, they were wondering, Why aren’t they helping this woman who is screaming in agony? All I can say is that sometimes people can be so cold. I suppose they were not used to seeing many African-Americans in that area.

They finally put me in one of those cold rooms. The doctor did a quick ultrasound and couldn’t find a heartbeat. She told me I was in labor and was having a miscarriage. She said four and a half months was pretty late to miscarry.

My husband, Luke, finally showed up, and boy, did he look hurt! He couldn’t say much more than, Are you okay? I’m sorry. He looked so bad you would have thought he was actually having the miscarriage instead of me. I had to ask him if he was okay. His face looked funny—as if he was going to be sick. He walked out for a while. My moaning and groaning didn’t help. I was still waiting for the medicine to kick in. Lying in my bed in pain, I prayed to God, Please strengthen me so I can be strong for my husband.

Honestly, I felt Luke was taking the miscarriage much harder than I was. The pain started to go away, and my attitude of grief and sorrow changed strangely to a more calm and understanding one. I was okay and knew we could still have more children. I even started joking with him, and his spirit was lifted a little. We were able to talk about it without crying. We tried to figure out what could have happened. When the doctor came in, Luke began questioning her. She told him, Most of the time, there is no reason; it just happens. There could have been something wrong with the baby’s development or not. Sometimes, it just happens.

My husband struggled