Your Name Is Written on the Palm of My Hands

By Candy Wichert

In our world today, we hear so many hollow words. Words that mean nothing. Words that we are not certain are truthful. Words that try to impress us and others. Words that are weak and powerless. We hear words that are negative and legalistic. I certainly hope the words in this book are not meaningless, empty, and negative. I have intended for the words to bring you peace, love, and insight. I want these words to bring you hope and joy. They are intended for you to live a more fulfilled life. I hope you will find this book to be just what you needed to hear. It is not because I have wisdom, however; I have prayed that the Lord would use these words to be helpful and encouraging. If you have been wounded, I hope you will find these words of comfort. If you have experience prolonged struggles, I hope you will find God is looking after you and wants to give you comfort and peace. If your life is at the crossroad and you need to make a decision to what is right or wrong, please do what is right, not just what feels right to you. If you are the person who believes that you are unlovable, I hope you find insight in this book about how deeply the Lord loves you and wants a relationship with you. If you do not believe in miracles, I hope you might after reading about a few miracles in my life. What are your friendships like? I will share my relationship with just a few of my wonderful friend. Oh my goodness, they offer forgiveness for my weaknesses. Do you want to grow old gracefully? I sure do, however; after putting on a little age and going through a few storms on this journey, it can be challenging. I will share a few of my insights with you. My prayer is this book will be refreshing to you. Hopefully you will be encouraged during the tough seasons in your life. Please know, that I do not claim to have all the answers. Many people have blessed me with their insight and I would like to share them with you. I want you to have a wonderful and happy life. A life filled with goodness and joy. May the words in this book bless you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 19, 2018
• ISBN: 9781640821910

Book preview

Acknowledgment

First, I would like to give a special thank you to my husband, Bud. He knows my motives for writing this book, and without his encouragement I would not have continued writing.

My children—Darren, Sheila, and Amy—have been a great inspiration to me. Without them in my life, there would be very little about which to write. My son-in-law, Dustin Norris, has also given me a lot of insight.

I want to thank Lynn Pendergraft. I am a novice on the computer. Lynn is very gifted in technology. She has spent hours working with me, helping me with the computer.

I appreciate Picture This Studio. Kent Shirley has taken our family pictures for years. He always makes it a special event.

Monica Baker of Poetic Poppy Photography lent her photographic talents with some pictures of me too. That was also a fun event.

Some of the images herein were taken from our church directory with the permission of LifeTouch.

Moto Photo has also given permission for me to use some of the photos they have taken of my daughter and her family.

Cammaron Kaiser also graciously allowed me to include some of the great pictures of my grandchildren.

It is with great privilege that I pay honor to our armed forces. Without them fighting for our freedom, it would be impossible to share our thoughts and words as we please.

Most of all, I want to acknowledge my precious Lord and Savior. He has blessed me in numerous ways. Although I have traveled through some difficult valleys, I know he has guided my way. In fact, my name is written on the palm of His hand. I am so graceful for His saving grace. So thank you, Father, for all the blessings.

This book is dedicated to my husband, Bud, and my children, Darren, Sheila, and Amy.

Introduction

Ihave found through this journey that there have been many seasons to life. I have experienced love, lots of love—love from my parents, love from my spouse, love from my kids, love from my extended family, love from friends, and even love from those who have barely touched my life. I have also given love. I have loved very deeply. I have also experienced heartache, the kind of heartache that can only be experienced by loving deeply. The heartache of illness and unknown disease, of divorce, of death, of loss. And I have experienced forgiveness.

I believe this book will mostly be read by my family and friends. While I would much rather be talking to you person in person, there are many reasons for me writing this book. I realize there may be a few people reading this book I do not know. I certainly hope you will gain encouragement through the words and pictures.

I have included pictures of close family members and close friendships. I wish there was room to include every person who has influenced my life.

There are a few good reasons I write about my close friendships. In the Bible, Jesus talked a lot about His close friends and other people in general. Jesus expected us to learn from their life experiences, not make the same mistakes, and gain good insight through their wisdom. Hopefully, you will be able to gain a tad bit of those things from my book that you can use in your life.

Please do not feel that I am trying to manipulate you into thinking or believing like I do. One thing is for sure. My words cannot possibly explain how much my heart cares for you. One purpose for me writing this book is to let the reader know how important he or she is. I want them to realize how important they are to God. I desire that you get to know the Lord more deeply, that you realize how powerful prayer is and God’s word. One chapter is about how God has answered some prayers in my life. I stress to never give up. I want my children and grandchildren to know my background. I want them to understand who they are and why they make certain choices.

My goal is that you will love more deeply, in the very depth of your innermost being. I desire that you will become kinder than you have ever been. I want you to become more authentic and pay attention to who the Lord brings into your life. Hopefully you will become more devoted to something outside of yourself. There will be some bad situations in your life, and hopefully you will gain some wisdom and make the best of the situations.

I always believe that you should give people the benefit of the doubt. Be polite, and tolerant. Of course, you cannot let crazy people walk all over you. Maybe after reading this book you will be able to let some things go. Take good care of your family and extended family. Take good care of your friends.

After reading this book, if you have gained one new insight, I am grateful. I am so honored and humbled that you have taken the time to read my book. I have shared some joyful moments and some painful events. I in no way claim to have all the answers along this journey called life. In fact, the longer I live, the less I know. I have had a lot of struggles, just like everyone else. However, insights that I am aware of, I would like to pass along.

I have a passion for people to be happy and know God’s love. In one chapter I discussed how so many people have watched out for me—my family, friends, my Sunday school class, extended family,. I will forever be grateful to them.

As you are aware, the title of this book is about where your name is written. What is in a name? What do people think about when they hear you name?

When you picture God, what comes to your mind? What does his name mean to you? Trust? Love? Forgiveness? The beginning and the end? Grace? Mercy? Write your own list.

My dad’s mom has the last name of Fisher. They are known for their farming ability. They are tremendously hardworkers. They show a lot of healthy affection toward one another. My mom’s mother was a wonderful cook and was known for taking food to people that were poor or just down-in-the-dumps. Again, she was a hardworker, and she was also known for her great sense of humor. She had so many funny stories. She was known as a gentle woman.

My maiden name is Martin. I remember my growing up years quite well. We were not very wealthy. In fact, a lot of people thought we were poor. Some people referred to people in our area as Blackjackers. We had a lot of blackjack trees. But it seemed like Dad and Mom always had enough money to help the needy. There were known for that. They were known as Christians, who loved the Lord and other people. Their name represented hard work.

I am amazed as I look back at how hard they worked. Their arms were always stretched out to give a hug, and their door was always open. Although my family is far from perfect, I love my maiden name. It stands for a lot of good stuff worth far more than money. After I started writing this book, I realized I wanted to share some pictures with you. However, I soon discovered one problem with that concept. I probably have one to two million pictures. I love pictures. Since my family knows I like pictures, they are constantly giving me more. When my family members pass away, I inherit pictures. It was a difficult process choosing which pictures to include. And I do realize that many of the pictures are far more meaningful to me than anyone else; however, I hope a few of them will bless you.

Even more challenging than the photo selection process was not including names and pictures of all the people who have crossed my path and left indelible impressions. If you are one of hundreds who have impacted my life, hopefully I have made you aware, and you can fill your name in here:

­­­­­­­­­­­­____________, thank you for making me a better person. I am so honored and humbled that you have taken the time to read this book.

So if you are ready, pull up a chair, pour a cup of tea, and let’s start this journey together.

God Answers Prayer

Through a Difficult Disease

Iknew of no greater joy than to find out I was expecting our first child. We deeply wanted a baby for at least two years. All of my friends were having children, and I also wanted to be a parent. I prayed for a baby. I did not really care if I had a boy or girl. At that time there was no way of determining the sex of the child. When our first child was born, a boy, we could not have been happier. He was born on August 12, 1976. While in the hospital, I kept waiting for the Gerber baby food company to call because I just knew they wanted his picture on the baby food jar. Darren was a delightful child. He was so much fun, full of life and energy. He always wanted to do something. Always busy. He had a magnetic personality.

In the meantime, Bud and I became foster parents. Our little Michelle was a tremendous joy. She loved her big brother, and Darren loved her. She was constantly loving on him. The role of foster parents is incredibly fulfilling and heartbreaking at the same time. When Michelle left our home, it was extremely painful for all of us.

Twenty-one months after Darren was born, we had our adorable daughter Sheila. Again we prayed for a healthy child. She was a beautiful baby, with her bright eyes and gorgeous smile. She had such a good little heart.

Three years later we were blessed with another beautiful baby girl, Amy. She was active, full of life, and beautiful. When I was expecting Amy, again I prayed for a healthy child. Our little family was complete, and we settled in to live happily ever after. Of course I thought my children were the smartest, most beautiful, most talented children in the whole world. And I still do. Those are thoughts parents just have.

However, as they grew, I detected a few little delays. Nothing big, just enough to catch my eye. Then they started school. Kindergarten went great. First grade was another story. Our daughter Sheila seemed to struggle the most. All of our kids had a very difficult time walking, talking, and holding small objects. Every childhood accomplishment that seemed to come so easily for other children was an overwhelming challenge to each of ours. Knowing that there had to be a reasonable explanation, we took them to occupational therapy and speech therapy. Their struggles continued as they grew, and at about junior high age, their bodies became very twisted. Their arms and legs appeared to be particularly affected. They had great difficulty eating, let alone walking.

Oh my goodness, we struggled. I sat in my brown rocking chair crying buckets of tears. We took the kids to several doctors. It was a grueling experience. They had several different diagnoses.

Please remember, this chapter is about how I know the Lord answers prayer. Those were very dark days for us. In fact, tears fill my eyes as I am writing this. However, I knew I had to keep my faith and keep praying. I walked around with a heavy heart for a long period of time. Sad to say, things only got worse.

Sheila wore leg braces for many years; however, she was now in a wheelchair.