Ada Brownell – Real Life Romance – Part 3 of 3

Shannon here: Ada Brownell shares her path to trust in her marriage plus a chance to win a copy of her historical romance, The Lady Fugitive. Comment or answer the question at the end of any post dated Dec 30 – Jan 4 to enter the drawing, U.S. only. Deadline Jan 9th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Ada:

MY PATH TOWARD TRUST
by Ada Brownell

I went into marriage determined to be unpredictable.
You see, I knew a woman whose spouse had an affair and she didn’t have a clue. So especially when my husband worked shifts on the railroad and didn’t get off until midnight, I made sure he couldn’t predict what his wife would do. Sometimes I was asleep when he got home; other times I was still up.
I suppose I knew it’s not good for a marriage to have one of them constantly suspicious of the other. We’d committed our lives to the Lord. We attended church regularly. Still I was determined to keep a look out for anything suspicious. After all, the woman I knew never did find out about his sin. Other people did, approached her husband, and he quickly repented and ended the extramarital relationship. He had sense enough to know if they told his wife, his marriage probably would be over.
The years passed and I stuck to my commitment to be unpredictable. By that time I’d been married about 10 years and had two children, a seven-year-old and a four-year-old.
One night when my husband was working until midnight, I decided to stay up instead of going to bed. I took a bath, put on face cream, brushed my teeth, and it became later and later. In the mirror I saw my narrowed eyes. Well, at least I’ll be up and he won’t put anything over on me!
I watched the clock move past 1 a.m., 1:30 a.m. and toward 2 in the morning.
That’s when panic hit. What would I do? How could I feed and care for the children? I had no job. Where would I go?
I didn’t even have a phone to call someone.
I gripped the vanity and stared at myself in the mirror. I thought back to the wonderful service we had at church that night. Blinking away the coming tears, my eyes opened wide. Church!
I had kept our one car that night so the kids and I could go to church. I was supposed to pick him up!
That event pretty much bulldozed a path through my vain imaginations. Les and I have been married 62 years.
About Ada: Ada Brownell, a devoted Bible student, has written for Christian publications since age 15 and spent much of her life as a reporter for The Pueblo Chieftain in Colo. She also is a veteran youth Christian education teacher. After moving to Missouri in her retirement, she continues to write books, free lance for Sunday school papers, Christian magazines, write op-ed pieces for newspapers, and blogs with stick-to-your-soul encouragement. She is the author of six books. She is a member of Ozarks Chapter of American Christian Writers and American Christian Fiction Writers. She and her husband have five children, one in heaven, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Her historical romance, The Lady Fugitive, is a 2015 finalist for the Clash of the Titles Laurel Award. Learn more & connect: Ada’s blog
About the book – The Lady Fugitive: How does a respected elocutionist become a face on a wanted poster?
Jenny Louise Parks escapes from the coal bin, and her abusive uncle offers a handsome reward for her return. Because he is a judge, he will find her or he won’t inherit her parents’ ranch. Determination to remain free grips Jenny, especially after she meets William and there’s a hint of romance. But while peddling household goods and showing a Passion of the Christ moving picture, he discovers his father’s brutal murder.
Will Jenny avoid the bounty hunters? Can she forgive the person who turns her in?
2015 Laurel Award runner-up.
#Review The Lady Fugitive: You’ll laugh, bite your nails, wish you had a gun to help.

Can’t wait for the drawing? Purchase now: Ada’s Amazon Page

Question for readers: Besides Jesus and God, who is the person in your life you trust most in the world?

Come back Jan 7th for Angela Breidenback!