As you know I had the amazing opportunity to work with young parents in the high school and middle school setting; I will always be grateful for them, what they taught me, hopefully what I taught them, and the lifelong  relationships formed.

After ten years, I took a sabbatical of sorts and went home for a few years. During that time I wrote my book, Detours & Dreams and renewed and refreshed my heart and mind. I won’t say I had burned out but  I have learned, when God is finished with us in an area but we refuse to lay it down, we face what we call “burn out” or possibly our health begins to decline. I knew I was to let someone take the Teen Parenting program to another level but I couldn’t let it go. It was my “baby”; they were my kids. I kept hearing quietly in my heart, “Kathy, time to close this door. Trust Me.” But I didn’t. Health issues mounted but I sank my teeth in like a pit bull; God and I were having a tug of war; trust had never been my strong suit and leaving this position, this program, was not going to happen. I would win!

One day, Phil walked into my office, closed the door, sat down and said,” Either you will resign or I will resign for you! You have to take care of yourself!”  I was stunned. He has always been a man of few words but those words weren’t what I wanted to hear.  A few days later, I resigned. I found my replacement, told the kids, we cried together, and I went home.

I had no idea how bad things were. If any of you have ever heard of Epstein Barr, more commonly equated with “chronic fatigue syndrome”, it is a very debilitating illness. It begins as undiagnosed mononucleosis. Thinking I had the flu, I kept going. Nearly six months into this, I told my doctor I couldn’t get over the flu. Blood work revealed it was never the flu. He told me I needed much rest, no stress, and a healthy diet.

For the next two years I lived in a recliner. No energy; little hope.

But God…….

I had questions; He didn’t appear to have answers. I talked; He didn’t. I listened; He was silent.

I slept; a lot. Phil was great about shouldering household responsibilities. Like me, he couldn’t understand why this was happening, especially when so much good was being done to help young teens graduate and move forward into a better life. It never occurred to me that anyone else could do what I did. Or at least not as well!

Over time, longer than I wanted, energy began to slowly return. For the first time in a long time I had time to write. Slowly, a couple of pages at a time, but I was writing. Detours & Dreams was taking shape; I had a story to tell. Funny thing about writing: sometimes we have to get the words on the page to find the real story waiting to be told. There are many versions of the journey before the “real” story surfaces. It’s called “editing” but for me it was uncovering many layers. Detours & Dreams began to create a picture.

I was going to a Christian writer’s conference in Florida, leaving early on a Thursday morning. Wednesday afternoon I went to the mailbox and my Charisma magazine was there with a picture of an older couple on the front. With my glass of tea and the comfort of the porch swing, I opened to the inside story to read about this amazing couple. As I was reading, I had an urgency to make copies of my book and put into my suitcase. Since I wasn’t quite finished with the final chapter, I had fast work to do. That night, at 11:30 I was in Arlington at an all-night printing company compiling sixteen chapters into a book. Phil took me to DFW the next morning at 6:30.

The atmosphere at the conference was charged with excited would-be authors hoping to share knowledge and dreams. Walking into a large ballroom filled with standard round luncheon tables, like others I chose a place to sit. No one was at the table where I sat. “May I join you?” When I looked up, I was speechless. Mr. Walker, the older man on the cover of Charisma, sat down a few chairs directly across from me.  Others soon filled the chairs and lunch was served. I couldn’t eat; I knew who was sitting at this table but no one else seemed to know.  In between bites, first time writers were making light conversation slowly getting acquainted with each other. As the conversation ensued, he casually interjected, “Through the years I have had young writers ask me if I would read their work but few, if any, ever followed through.”   Most kept eating but although my heart was racing, very carefully I said,” If someone at this table had a manuscript would you read it?” An icy quiet permeated the table; everyone seemed to stop breathing. Mr.Walker slowly looked up, his kind gaze met mine, but then he looked down. It was now awkward. What seemed like minutes, he again looked up and said, “Young lady, do you have such a manuscript?” If all eyes weren’t on me before they were now! “Yes, sir; I have it in my room.” Again he looked down. My heart was beating and if beads of sweat weren’t on the outside, they were raining on the inside. Slowly he raised his head. “Then I shall read it.” I thought everyone was going to clap or pass out! He then smiled at me and said, “We will talk when lunch is over.”

We did talk. His wife, Barbara asked me to join her in walking down the hallway. She asked all about me, my family and before I raced to the room to get my manuscript she put her hand on mine and said, “Kathy, Bob doesn’t do this; this is special.” She smiled and I was now sprinting! I could barely contain my excitement!

From that day on, he became my mentor. His phone calls were always a bright welcome into my day. He told me, “ Kathy, you are a writer, and no matter how long it takes to get published never give up. You have a story, one that needs to be told and no one can tell it like you.”

His critiques were harsh and the final book resembled little to the first one he read. But no matter how much he did to help me improve as a writer, it was his belief in me that pushed me to the finish line.  Robert and Barbara Walker took an interest in me when I had no idea what I was doing; they came alongside me and encouraged me to tell my story. “This is the beginning for you,” he said one day. “God has a plan for your life; do your part.”

He always reminded me, do your part. During our conversations he would talk about all the others before me who never gave him something to read. When I told him the story about reading about him in Charisma Magazine the day before I went to Florida, he chuckled. “I knew who you were; not sure anyone else at that table did that day.” I said.   He chuckled again. “God has a way of connecting people,” he said.

Robert Walker was an icon in the Christian Publishing world. His resume read like no one I had ever known or have known since. He was even credited for publishing the first major story on Billy Graham in the 40’s. The man I came to know, Bob Walker as he always said when he called, was kind, humble and filled with Jesus. He wasn’t impressed with accomplishments or accolades; he was too invested with living and helping others. He would remind me, “When you get discouraged, keep on writing. Never quit.”

I wish I could say I zipped through writing Detours & Dreams. Mr. Walker never got to read the finished story; but I credit him with helping me uncover all the layers to find the true treasure of my story.  Possibly I may never have finished writing if it wasn’t for his encouragement. “When you get discouraged,” he had said. Not “if.” His wisdom met me at every turn.

Do your part. Sometimes we don’t know exactly what that is. The students I had worked with through the years taught me that lesson well. It’s not enough to throw words at someone and walk away. We need to be there to help answer the hard questions or to help them know what the right questions are. Mr. Walker did that for me; he had forgotten more in the writing world than I would possibly ever know.  He kept his guidance simple and his wisdom always left me believing, I can do this.  Just like I told my students, I would believe in them until they could believe in themselves. He did that for me.

I said earlier he never got to read my final manuscript. He died in 2008. I have always believed my encounter with him was a divine appointment; both he and Barbara encouraged me to make my dream a reality. When I didn’t know what I didn’t know, Robert Walker came into my life. I will always miss our phone conversations and I will always know his kindness, investment and belief in me helped me reach past my limited beliefs and become the writer I am today.

If I hadn’t left my position in the school district, I’m not sure I would have written Detours & Dreams.  God had to heal me emotionally and physically; writing is filled with ups, downs, and requires a strong stamina.  The years of sitting and restoring also helped me regain a bigger purpose that I had not imagined.

If I had not gone to Florida to that conference, I possibly wouldn’t have met Robert Walker. If I hadn’t gone to the mailbox, decided to read the article about the couple on the cover, I wouldn’t have known the significance of his wisdom.

Ordered steps require: paying attention, listening, and stepping out into faith. God is ALWAYS speaking.

As Mr. Walker put it, “Do your part. Trust God to do His.”

I would love to hear that voice again. A truly great man who took an interest in me.

Grateful beyond words for the time he gave me and allowed me to call him my friend.

For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the fulfillment; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come; it will not be late on its appointed day.  Habakkuk 2:3