She Magazine NOVEMBER 2015 | Page 48

He Speaks in every issue Higher Grounds Photography DAN SHELLEY a faith that transforms Editor’s note: From the first time my eyes fell upon Dan Shelley, I knew he loved Jesus as he oozed God’s love. Looking into Dan’s baby blues, I see an ocean of love and peace that can only come from a deep and real relationship with our Savior. One of the things that made me fall in love with Dan Shelley was the beautifully written love letters that he wrote to me daily and often. Thinking about what man I wanted to ask to author He Speaks this month as we celebrate FAITH, HOPE AND FAMILY, I realized one day that I was standing right in front of the man I needed to ask. While I personally know many worthy candidates whom I would have been honored to have asked, I decided that after two and a half years of my telling you about my amazing man, Dan, it is time you find out first-hand. - Melia Flowers IN a distant memory I recall a time in my life when I was an innocent child and all was right with God in my small world. Our family would drive the few miles, mostly down dirt roads to Little Bethel Baptist Church, where “Mammy,” and “Papa,” my father’s parents attended along with a few other relatives and dear friends and neighbors. As children, we believed the words in a song our Mama taught us,”He’s got the whole world in His hands,” and that we were safe and secure in God’s care. We never knew about the financial struggles our parents had with raising four kids. At a point in my life, around the age of eight, I can remember feeling that I had left that innocent age behind and wishing that I could get it back. Somehow, even at that young age, I realized that something precious and pure was gone forever.In grade school I began to encounter the outside world more and began to become caught up in all the things that pull us away from God. Still, I always feared God. Yet, knowing right from wrong, I often chose the wrong, justifying my rebellious actions. As a teenager, I couldn’t wait to try all the “forbidden stuff” that I knew was going on around me. Yet, I still didn’t smoke a cigarette until I was 16. That was a bit of a small miracle, considering the fact that I had worked in tobacco for years at that point. When I did succumb, I recall thinking that I may as well partake of the products I was helping to produce. A tobacco barn was also where I had my first taste of alcohol. Thereafter, whenever the opportunity arose, I was always a willing participant. I recall reading in our Ninth grade Weekly Readers about the hippies in California who were smoking “pot.” That intrigued me. I just couldn’t wait to try it and soon did. My growing interest to try all of the “fun stuff” that was becoming an increasingly popular part of our culture led me down a road that took me far from God. Now, looking back, I am able to see more clearly than ever that, He does hold the whole world in His hands- wrong turns, cliffs, and crash landings... all of which I would experience before my journey came full circle. continued... 48 NOVEMBER 2015 SHEMAGAZINE.COM