1 second time around submission to issu

Second Time around Manuscript

By Valerie Cheers Brown Started on July 4, 2015 Editing on January 14, 2015 Foreword First, I thank my heavenly Father for giving this book idea to me and for sending this amazing man back to me for the Second Time Around.

I dedicate this book to my first love Jerome Eugene Brailey, who is my first and my last love. You don’t know how excited I was to hear your voice again after 30 years! I had prayed and asked God to send you to me and He did just that, for the ‘Second Time Around.’ I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you and will honor and cherish you for the rest of our days. Yes, I will marry you and I dreamed that you asked me on Christmas of December of 2012, and this may seem a bit far-fetched, but this is my dream and I am allowed to dream.

This is what has kept me holding onto us meeting again Jerome, and even though I never actually heard you ask me, I felt that you did and I accepted it in my dream and on Facebook, and that was the happiest day of my life! I decided that day that no matter how long it would take; I would wait for you! I love you and hope to have this book done before we actually meet, but if we don’t meet before it is published please note that these are my vows to you Jerome Eugene Brailey.

“I believe in you, the person you will grow to be and the couple we will be together.

With my whole heart, I take you as my husband, acknowledging and accepting your faults and

strengths, as you do mine. I promise to be faithful and supportive and to always make our family's love and happiness my priority. I will be yours in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health, in failure and in triumph. I will dream with you, celebrate with you and walk beside you through whatever our lives may bring. You are my person—my love and my life, today and always."

Don’t let anybody tell you that long-distance relationships do not work because they do if you work hard at it and they make you stronger and you also have to be a fighter not willing to give up! You most definitely must be up for the challenge of falling in love and being with this person for the rest of your life. ~ Valerie J Brown Chapter 1 ~ the Long Distance Meeting Begins This story begins with Vanessa meeting Jerome during his concert accidentally for the very first time and he was actually playing the drums when she spotted him on stage during his bands performance.

The story revolves around this romantic meeting which leads them both into bigger and better things each neither had ever had in their entire lives. It might have been a romantic meeting which would end and went their separate ways but then them again after 30 years meet again by accident, yet again.

Could it be by accident that these two met each other by and then meet up again for the second time the same way?

The ‘second time around’ is the sure thing and they both have a faraway romance which leads them both into becoming very successful and eventually end up getting married only after not seeing each other until both of their dreams are met working effortlessly long distance from each one other which is truly what makes this dream the best ever.

Don’t ever think that a long distance relationship doesn’t work, and wait until you see what happens with these two, and it will make you want to date long distance just to make certain you are made for each other for the rest of your lives.

What makes this story so beautiful is how Vanessa and Jerome fall madly in love for the very first time in their lives without ever seeing each during this faraway romance the whole entire time or could actually be called secret lovers.

When they finally do meet, it is the biggest wedding ever planned for them both and he knows about it but she doesn’t, but Vanessa works hard and by working hard she felt that this would allow her not to get into a relationship without first having her very own.

Vanessa prayed to God to send her a good man and this is how it all began.

The story begins in 2012 when Vanessa was browsing on the computer looking for a copy of her book and instead pulls up what looked like a face of a person she knew from her past.

Vanessa just happened to be looking for a copy of her first published book to post onto Facebook, and instead she pulled up his book by mistake. She zoomed in to enlarge the book cover photo to get a better look and for sure it was him!

You could say that she got a ‘birds-eye view’ so she could see it much clearer and she thought she recognized the face on the front of this book.

This beautiful face looked like somebody who she had known from over 30 years ago in their pass life.

She was shocked when the person on the front of the book, was really Jerome, a guy she had a short relationship with over 30 years back was actually on this book and it was his first book too and they just happened to have the very same color of purple for their book covers.

Vanessa enlarged the book cover and it was him, Jerome, and she smiled. She pulled the book up so she could find information hoping she could contact her long lost first love from over 30 years ago.

She thought since he had a book maybe he had a Facebook page, so she went onto Facebook and there he was, and there were many accounts in his name and by him being a musician, artist, celebrity she looked for any signs of drums.

Vanessa could not believe that she had found this man, this wonderful man who had taken her over 30 years ago to his hometown of Richmond, Virginia, to meet his mom and family.

She was so excited and she requested becoming his friend and prayed that he would accept her friendship.

He immediately accepted her friendship and then she sent him a message telling him who she was. When they had known each other previously, Vanessa had a different last name from a previous marriage.

Little did Vanessa know that Jerome had been trying to find her for the longest but did not know her new married name?

They both recognized each other and exchanged phone numbers. Vanessa called Jerome and they spoke and got to know each other all over again. The moment she heard his voice, it was like she had been blessed by God. It was the best conversation ever and she was so excited and she could hear it in his voice that he was excited to hear her voice also!

A few weeks previously before Vanessa and Jerome found each other, Vanessa had placed her Bible onto her forehead and had prayed to God to send her a man He thought she should be with and who would love and cherish her with all of her flaws and her mostly her past.

Vanessa had no idea that God would send this amazing man she was destined to be with for the rest of their entire living days on this earth.

And it was her incredible and amazing drummer man, Jerome her very first real love!

Chapter 2 – Have you ever?

Vanessa decided to sing this chapter and express how she felt about Jerome and she sang this song to herself often and listened even more at night before going to bed!

Vanessa loved this song by Brandy so much and had it on her mind all of the time and it is called: “Have you Ever?” by Brandy.

Have you ever heard a song which fit your life exactly? Well, Brandy’s song “Have You Ever” did exactly for Vanessa and the way she felt about Jerome.

Vanessa listened to this song day end and day out. Every single word was true for her and Jerome. Vanessa thought she and Jerome’s love was past, and present perfect but was very anxious and waiting to see him again for the first time in over thirty years.

There were many songs which Vanessa enjoyed listening to but she soon found out that when you are sad the lyrics meant more and when you are happy and just plain love music the music made you happy!

When did you? Where did you? Why did you? How did you? Was this fate?

Vanessa and Jerome spoke on and off but not that much on the telephone at all.

Vanessa would text him a few times, but this was not what they did best and not part of God’s plan neither. God had it in His plan for their test where they would love each other even more…but not by talking like couples usually do.

What the two of them did best was played music to one another on Facebook and Vanessa even felt that there were messages in Google Plus too, so she would go their regularly and like many posts and music.

It got real intense and the two of them would send messages and photos to each using music as their path of loving one another even more through their long distance secret love affair.

Vanessa at first was worried what others would think that she was crazed over a man that to them only looked like she was the one in love, but in secret the two of them knew this to be totally different.

What Jerome and Valerie did was started music pages and allowed these imaginary friends to be the members and administrators. At least this is what Vanessa called them and all of the time, she felt that it was only she and Jerome the whole entire time on Facebook communicating with each other. She knew he worked in teams and knew it was very possible that he had many team players cheering and boosting their love on, but most of the time she felt it was she and Jerome only on the whole entire Facebook love saga!

They played along with each other and this was their way of communicating with one another and never really talked on the telephone nor text messaged each other like…. how would you say most normal people would have done?

But…you see these two were not normal and this was a unique and special thing about these two. God’s way of testing the two of them was keeping them apart from each other, but in each other’s hearts and what did this do for these two?

They fell head over hills in love with each other!

What they did was prayed for each other all of the time, inspired one another, motivated one another, Vanessa wrote poetry and he also had poetry posted which was like being with each other, even though they were not in the flesh.

Vanessa and Jerome were always together in spirit and in each other’s hearts and never not once left each other’s side. You see when one hearts beat for two people it turns into one and the feelings were apparent for them both at all times.

She knew how he was feeling and he knew how she was feeling and that was missing each another and anxiously awaiting their meeting.

Vanessa had moments where she could barely stand to look at his photo because it tore her up inside. There were many times where Vanessa just felt like giving up, but she kept on praying and kept on asking God to give her signs that Jerome was the man for her and He did!

Jerome had moments where he stopped speaking to Vanessa via email, but Vanessa knew why because she felt the same way only with looking at his photo, yet, they both remained strongly in love with each other.

Vanessa had moments where she often thought, “What would I say to him if I did talk to him?”

Vanessa would think “I want to see him so bad,” and it only made Vanessa sadder to think about even talking to Jerome.

So the two of them continued playing and making music to occupy each other’s heart until they finally met in person. When this was only God knew!

It was often so very hard for Vanessa and at times she would have to stay off of Facebook because she felt kind of angry at times…. and did not want to say anything to hurt this man she was so in love with nor any of the beautiful angels God had put into their lives!

But, being the Christian woman she was, she forgave him all of the time.

Being off of Facebook became very hard for Vanessa and she often felt like she was cheating Jerome if she did not go to listen to the music he was posting for her and when she was there on Facebook, it actually felt like she was with Jerome.

I know silly huh? But, this was all Vanessa had to hold onto for now until they finally met one another again!

So she kept herself busy with reading and writing while also living her life single with peace! More than anything else, Vanessa stayed prayerful and it seemed when she prayed to God, He always answered her very quickly when it came to Jerome!

Even though they posted so much music and had so many music pages, she still sometimes felt neglected by him although, she felt his presence constantly it was not the same as seeing him face to face.

So, what they would do is chat with each other only he used fictitious names and sometimes she did not feel right by being so free and open but Vanessa felt in her heart it was him all along. But many times, she again felt like she was cheating on Jerome! But, one day finally a chatter appeared with the name Jerome but his last name was not her Jerome’s but she went along with the chatter and held a conversation. She often felt in her heart that it was her Jerome, so she would keep on chatting and leisurely conversation with this unknown Jerome!

Vanessa had such a rough time getting into her writing and so she prayed and asked God to help her to keep on being strong and most of all remain focused in order to get this project done. She was determined to get this book done before they actually met.

So what Vanessa did was she would go for walks and this would help her to think about what would next be put into her book and walking helped Vanessa to focus and also helped with

her health too and kept her heart healthy, while it was all of the time broken waiting to see Jerome!

The only thing was Vanessa often thought how was the book to end when she did not even know how it would really end in real life so she prayed and asked God to give her the story and this is what she did.

Chapter 3‌. Hopefully

Vanessa prayed and asked God what she should do to make this book interesting and to keep her reader’s attention and He told her to use her music and poetry when she got stumped and this is what Vanessa did! God also put into her spirit to write and inspire others.

So every time Vanessa got to point where she could not come up with more…she would read her poetry and/or music and include it as part of the story too to explain how she felt about Jerome and hopefully this would help to inspire others as well what love really means.

This is one of her poems she loved and hoped Jerome loved it too!

HOPEFULLY you’re so far way yet you are here I can’t see your face But I can feel you near I can’t touch you But I hold you close No matter where you are you’re in my heart wherever I go Hopefully the miles between us will disappear soon because all I want is to be with you Valerie J Brown 2015

Vanessa started having these strange dreams that were so astounding…. and only when she dreamed did she really get to see Jerome. She could get to see Jerome in her dreams but the weirdest part was that Jerome had to be asleep too!

Evidently, Jerome was not sleeping too well, because Vanessa never hardly got to see him her in dreams.

It had gotten to the point that Vanessa wanted to sleep all of the time and this how she would get to meet her love of her life but it seemed he may not be getting sleep so she could not see him in her sleep?

So, what she did was prayed and asked God to touch Jerome from his head to his heart and help him to get rest as she was finally getting and hoped he would too.

You see Jerome and Vanessa really missed one another and they both were‌ in reality having a hard time sleeping and it was only when they both slept that they could really see each other in their dreams.

So Vanessa kept on praying and praying and asking God to help them both to sleep so they could at least see one another in their dreams while they sleep.

It got extremely hard for Vanessa and it really got to the place that she could not sleep, therefore, she could not see Jerome, the love of her life, and it only made matters worse.

You see, the pain of being far from each other is REALITY of long distance relationships, you cannot change the circumstance, and yes it hurts.

However, the misery that originates from this torment, is OPTIONAL. You see torment and enduring are not one and the same thing.

Torment and pain is something that arrives, and you can't transform it, while enduring is the consequence of RESISTING that agony, rather than ACCEPTING it.

Vanessa stayed up so late that she began to write more to keep herself comforted and she knew eventually that she and Jerome would see each so she wrote herself to death‌ you could say.

Vanessa prayed and asked God for His help and this is what He gave to her: I CAN’T SLEEP by Barry Mowles of the UK I can’t sleep, there are just too many things running through my mind; I think my heart is blurring my vision, but I was always warned that love is blind.

I lay staring at a dark ceiling making pictures out of shadows, as the world around me is asleep; love has taught me to reap what I sow, but I just sow what I reap.

Whispers in my ear leave me tossing and turning; love has left me feeling like a boy who still has to do so much learning.

Behind closed eye lids my mind is still wide awake; I have lived my life without regrets, but I have made more than one mistake.

My phone is on silent, so I wouldn’t even know if someone was calling; love has dragged me under its spell, but I didn’t know how deep I was falling.

Night time is so quiet, no sound of traffic, nobody knocking on my door; in a few hours the sun will rise, and I wonder what tomorrow has in store.

I wish I could sleep so I could dream about skies colored in blue; it doesn’t matter if I am awake or asleep, as all I can ever think about is you.

After Vanessa read this poem about twenty times or so she finally got a bit sleepy and decided to listen to some music to relax her even more.

Chapter 4…. Time is The Longest Distance between Two Lovers?

Vanessa finally fell asleep and she had the weirdest dream ever and it had nothing to do with her love of her life, Jerome but instead she dreamed another dream.

An angel came to her in sleep and told her something which she pretty much already knew, but she dreamed that the angel had to make sure that she knew this.

Vanessa’s angel in her sleep told her, “Vanessa, long distance relationships require a lot of effort and you have been so very patient with Jerome, but do you really know what he has been going through?”

She reminded Vanessa that this relationship would take lots of dedication and endurance and that she was one of the strongest women ever in the world, for no other woman would have been able to stand the torment which she had gone through.

The angel told Vanessa, “You are very strong and even though Jerome was there and she was here, she was still staying strong and not letting him interfere with her work and she was working even harder that she had not heard from him than she had… when they were actually speaking to one another.

The angel told Vanessa “It takes two very strong people to do what you two are actually doing being distances away from each other.”

The angel then told Vanessa, “If you and Jerome actually both remain strong enough and have the same determination or will of fighting for it, this relationship would continue to work and you both would have to hold on a little longer.”

Vanessa, thought, “If I have to wait any longer I don’t not know if I could survive!”

“But you see…there are not many people in this world who are willing to go through what you two have gone through,” the angel said and to be still holding on to each other’s love from faraway as long as the two of you have only through music and posting on social media is incredible and could go down into history or even the Guinness Book of Records.”

Vanessa really did not realize that she and Jerome had been holding on that long, but Vanessa truly believed she had been holding for longer than Jerome because she felt that he may have been in a relationship when they first met each other again.

Vanessa, only knew from what the angel told her and she said told her that he was not sleeping well either, but he was still working stronger than ever being long distance from his love of his life too!

Vanessa was being kind of selfish and thought, “I don’t really know what this man has gone through and sacrificed for me in this long distance relationship.

You see, Vanessa was the dedicated fool type of a woman and when she first met Jerome again, she was in a relationship also, but when she and Jerome found each other, she even told the other guy about him and told him that she was sorry but she could not see him anymore!

You see they both had to keep busy in order not to think about each other or they would have probably not made it, but this relationship was like none other ever!

What Vanessa and Jerome had done was really unusual and the time they were apart from each other there were very few people out there who would be willing to go through that mental, and physical pain of a long-distance relationship, much less willing of fighting for it, but they did!

Vanessa had friends and family that she was nuts, but that did not stop Vanessa from aiming for what she wanted and that was she was determined that God had answered her prayers and sent the man she would be with for the rest of her life, even if it meant real long distance to see if they could stand being away from each other.

God was putting Vanessa and Jerome through a test and was it ever a hard one and Vanessa wanted to past by being faithful to a man who was not even really in her life, but through God’s dreams he had given to her.

‘Time is the longest distance between two lovers’ and all of a sudden the angel disappeared and the song from “Les Miserables” came to Vanessa in her dream sang by Anne Hathaway and the lyrics go like this and was a like a Part II of Vanessa’s dream and she sort of went into another dream but it was a song dream called: I DREAMED A DREAM by Anne Hathaway Vanessa woke up immediately after this song was sung to her in her dream with tears in her eyes, but you will never believe who was singing this song in her dream?

Yes, Susan Boyle!

And the weirdest part of the song which really stuck in Vanessa’s head was: When hope was high and life worth living I dreamed, that love would never die I dreamed that God would be forgiving Then I was young and unafraid And dreams were made and used and wasted

After this dream Vanessa realized that dreams were for sure for dreamers and without them how we were even capable or able to make things better for our lives!

She thought, “Without dreams how we would possibly imagine going anywhere in life.”

Vanessa thought, “I got to hold onto my dreams and never let them go because God was putting all these amazing dreams into her head and she felt that God was her biggest motivator at this point.”

“What does this mean,” thought Vanessa?

Vanessa realized that she could not give up on the love of her life, Jerome because the angel in her dreams actually made her feel more confident than ever because of what she showed her in her dream.

Vanessa had to figure out a way to keep her mind occupied while waiting on Jerome, so she decided to make sure that she kept inspiration in her path and everything she picked up or read and/or even watched had to be positive and one person in particular she loved which gave her much hope was Susan Boyle of the village of Scotland who sang this incredible song to her in her dream.

Vanessa was very inspired by this lady whose dream was never wanted to be famous, but wanted to sing and Vanessa just wanted to make her dreams come true too!

Now Vanessa did not want to become a singer, but she did have dreams and wanted to fly as high as she could go and pursue work very hard to make her dreams come true and mainly to see the love of her life who she wanted to share these dreams with….and would do anything until they were achieved.

Vanessa was so determined to do this that she actually fly and did more with her talents than she had ever done in her life before and for some strange but beautiful reason she knew God had all to with this but she also had a God fearing man who also had her back 24/7 and the most beautiful thing ever was he was faraway, yet very close in Vanessa’s heart always.

Vanessa had always thought that if this really talented lady named Susan Boyle, who people bullied as a child and probably told her she would amount to nothing proved the world wrong could accomplish her dreams, this was hope for her and made her even more determined not to give up on her dreams so she listened and followed Susan Boyle even after she woke up.

Vanessa held onto inspirational people like Susan Boyle to prove to the world that she was somebody God had given talents….and Susan just wanted to sing and instead she became a world renowned singer at the ripe age of in her late forties.

It taught Vanessa that no matter what age or how long it takes…. dreams are to be made first and then with hard work they become reality but it takes not giving up and great determination and perseverance and most of all not allowing others to discourage us.

Vanessa had to continue tormenting herself with pursuing her dreams and working very hard because she wanted to spend her life with the love her life who she just knew God had brought back into her life, and this was this amazing man Jerome as a part of her life forever.

Vanessa, figured God doesn’t make mistakes and if He put Jerome and her back together, it had to be for keeps, but would take some time, God time…. which required some patience, endurance and perseverance on her part.

Vanessa would make her dreams come true… but it would take a lot of not giving up and great determination on her part if she were going to get her dreams and actually live them.

Vanessa loved Susan Boyle even more because of how those who ridiculed and even laughed at her on the talent show made her want to sing even more and when she stood on that stage and that beautiful voice came out, how dumb people really felt.

It goes to show don’t judge the book by the cover and she still stood up and made a fool out of them and she won being the center of the world’s attention.

Vanessa loved Susan because she made her own dreams come true by not ever giving up nor losing home and even though she did not get them when she was younger, God made it possible for her to get that opportunity to show the whole entire world and it was even better because the whole entire world got to see her for who she really was a funny, but very talented woman and they gave her the biggest standing ovation ever and cannot even imagine how that must have really felt!

This is why Vanessa loved social media so much and to her it was like Susan standing on that stage and showing what she had to give to the world and look what it got her! Susan really did it too and showed those judges and mainly that audience she was nothing to be reckoned with!

Vanessa understood so well how Susan Boyle must have felt and clung to her for she gave her hope because she was doubted and laughed at too all throughout her life. Vanessa was told lots by family members that she was very talented but needed to get a real job by.

Vanessa had many who thought she was completely nuts and not going to amount to anything and they judged by the way Susan looked and this reminded Vanessa what she lived most of her life both young and as she got older.

Vanessa realized even more this is why God gave us all talents, we just got to turn them into dreams first and work hard in order to achieve our dreams.

Vanessa knew that God would never leave her and even though the journey was very tough, she never gave up, and even though she had many nights of tears and prayers which were not answered, it was because God had something way bigger for her so she had to keep on working hard and keeping faith in Him. Vanessa also had faith in her long distance love of her life, Jerome too and knew he along with God had lots to do with her dreams coming true, but it was going to be a hard journey which Vanessa would prove to God just how badly she wanted her dreams to come true!

You see Jerome was a free and big hearted, kindred spirited, loving and kind man who did not like to see a person who was way bigger and talents short change themselves. Vanessa felt this in her heart and from knowing Jerome from her past knew what type man he really was!

He did not hold grudges and neither did Vanessa, but together they were a pair to be reckoned with and so they worked together long distance and did not care what others thought or what they thought they knew but he was the secret lover and Vanessa was the one who was courageous enough to even though people thought she was nuts carried through with this romance via social media by herself, even though Jerome was there, it appeared as if he was not, but she knew he was there the whole time.

Vanessa knew Jerome because she got the experience of meeting his mom and for anybody to do something like this, you must really be pretty special and this she was and for a man to be crazy in love with their mom, this had to be a good man with a heart of gold for any woman God had put into his life.

“What a magnificent person Susan Boyle really was,” Vanessa thought. Susan Boyle was Vanessa’s hero for sure and also gave Vanessa much hope, inspiration and great encouragement and she also showed Vanessa that you can make it if you want it bad enough regardless of what or how people treat you and it only makes you want it even more.

Susan Boyle, was an icon to Vanessa and she gave Vanessa great hope to hold on to her dreams and also taught Vanessa to keep fighting for what she believed in...

Vanessa continued to try to sleep but still no Jerome in her dream!

She began to believe that God had these plans for her and she had to take them and use them if she wanted her dreams to come true so this is what Vanessa did too.

Vanessa often thought, “What could be going on with him?

She thought about Jerome all of the time, so much she started to pray that God would help her to forget him for the time being until it was meant for them to be together.

She wanted to do what God had planned for her and so she stayed close to God and knew He would work the rest out for her and Jerome.

Vanessa prayed that he would be okay all of the time and knew God never would leave them. But Vanessa often thought, “Was he okay and does he love me as much as I love him?”

You see Vanessa had loved many times in her life, but for the first time in her life she was actually in love for the first time to this amazing man who was not meant to be then, but is meant to be now.

She often wondered what if she and Jerome had gotten married back then when he took her to meet his mom if they would still be together.

Vanessa thought why think about something which is out of her control, and in her past‌. And what is important is right now, this moment and she was happy now in this lifetime.

Vanessa would try to get Jerome to let her know that he was okay through email but no answer and even though she knew he was giving her signs on social network that he was, she felt she was showing God lack of faith, so she did as God wanted her to do.

But Vanessa being the person she was wanted to hear from him, but still no Jerome and she just wanted things way too fast and she knew this, so she continued to have faith and hold on.

Vanessa, knew this man was working so hard and even harder than she was and that he was just busy working with and for God too, but did not understand why he would not at least call to let her hear his voice like he normally uses to do.

Was Jerome feeling worse than Vanessa and she just did not know?

Was Jerome feeling just as bad in missing her as she was too?

All Vanessa knew is that she was about to go completely nuts even though she had faith that God had everything under control.

Vanessa did not what God really implied, but her heart was saying wholeheartedly yes as he was confident the differences weren’t stronger than our love. My heart felt embedded in his, and I still loved him deeply.

Again, Vanessa God showed her that he was busy just like she was and the sooner she did what God wanted, the sooner she would get to see Jerome.

Vanessa always felt in her heart Jerome always missed her just as badly as she missed him. But all of the time there was certain peace with the reality.

She could feel him being on the other side thinking of her and being in love with her too and this is all she could ask for at this moment and she prayed and asked God to please continue to give them both strength and patience.

But…one thing Vanessa did know that the faith Jerome had in her was like none other and she also felt the same way about him, even though she would have episodes where she longed to hear from him or even hold him in her arms she still endured his love and depended upon their meeting which really kept her motivated.

Vanessa realized that God would never leave her and she just had to keep the faith and let go and let God! What kept Vanessa really holding on was she knew eventually that she and Jerome would be together forever and if she had nothing right now, she surely had that much later in life to believe.

Vanessa stayed prayerful and her favorite scripture from the Bible was the Armor of God in the book of Ephesians of the Bible 16:10-20.

Vanessa made sure that she kept her armor on of God on at all times by being prayerful and staying in a very close relationship with God. She read this constantly and it helped her and it was so ironic right after she would read this there was this sense of peace that would come over her and knew that God was right there with her and she knew that he was protecting Jerome too always. Vanessa loved God!

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God So that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done anything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”

Vanessa prayed this once a day and stayed constantly in a very close relationship with God and it is what got her through this journey of waiting!

Vanessa thought “It’s not easy to keep up with the constant uncertainty of the future, and Vanessa often felt tired of external factors that sometimes hinder us.”

“Or do we hinder ourselves?” Vanessa thought.

But it has also dawned on Vanessa that you can’t make yourself the victim of circumstances.

We need to keep putting our heads up high and take the distance as our current external state that shapes us but will change eventually.

Vanessa always wished and prayed for a wonderful man with a beautiful character who loved her for who she was.

Now she got her wish just totally out of her comfort zone.

Vanessa learned some lessons along the way and they may help even if you’re not in a long-distance relationship: Even though Vanessa and Jerome did not verbally speak to one another each and every day, they often made one another laugh and they used rather unusual means of channels for communication. She would try and tell him every day that she loved him and would pray for him too and if she did miss a day, she would make up when she spoke to him through emailing him by saying something like, “Jerome in case I forgot to tell you yesterday I loved you, I am sending my love to make up for those days I did not.”

Or she would say “Jerome I love you more than yesterday!”

Vanessa always remembered to express her feelings to Jerome when she remembered.

Vanessa did have days when she would reply, but she was sure Jerome knew her love for him was strong and she always be there for him.

It is just so important never not say you love one another and our days are not ours but when the time is ready, we will not be here, so it is especially important to say you love that special somebody in your life.

When in a long distance relationship, after all you are waiting to see each other and saying you love one another consoles the soul while you are waiting!

In Vanessa and Jerome’s situation it was the music which was their message to one another and in her heart she knew when it was him always. She felt pretty much that Facebook was made just for her and Jerome for some strange reason.

Vanessa for a long time, believed that Mark Zuckerberg did something very special for she and Jerome and this was their love story and it was happening live on Facebook in front of millions of viewers.

Vanessa knew it was from Jerome and could feel presence sometimes. She realized he had to work or would be busy, but he had many working with and for him. Vanessa knew what type character or how Jerome worked and he worked with groves of people or a team and he had others helping to keep Vanessa smiling when she may appear to be down, to encourage her and inspire her to be anything she wanted to be and that he would never leave her side.

Jerome would always like her music she played to him on her very special page she dedicated to him called, “2nd Time Around and Jerome would always like her music by a name which began with ‘J’ and ended in ‘B’ names.

It got pretty hard sometimes because Vanessa did not know how to say NO and had a problem as many said of pleasing others. It was not that at all, but Vanessa thought she was honestly helping her faraway lover somehow on these pages. But…at times it got to be too much for Vanessa so she would shut the page down and have less of a burden to carry. Vanessa realized it was okay to say NO most of the time and she did not have to please everyone!

Vanessa knew when it was him and could feel his presence most of the time. He would signal her and she would know it was him most of the time. It would be affiliated with drums or his initials and she had it in her mind that it was him and nobody else.

Vanessa felt the same about him and there was this Asian name that always liked her posts immediately and she felt that was him too for a very peculiar feeling she had.

Vanessa could always feel his presence and even though Jerome was not there right in her face, she could tell when it was him on social media practically most of the time. She may have been wrong, but it was okay to feel him most of the time. After all, this how she survived and imagines it was the same for him. She often felt really bad because she could not really see how he was doing, but for some great feeling Jerome always was around asking some pretty dumb questions on the chat area of Facebook.

Of course, there would be many times Vanessa would be kind of down from missing Jerome and would not go onto the Facebook social media page which was very rare, but she had her moments.

It had gotten to the place many times she could not hardly stand to even look at his picture for it would only make her sadder and also would cause her to miss him even more, but it all worked out generally, buy the faith that Vanessa continued to have in God and in Jerome’s love for her.

Vanessa, shared and felt that Jerome was feeling the same sadness and missing her too, yet they continued to be distance secret lovers standing on God’s faith.

It really began to become really annoying to Vanessa and she was sure it was the same feeling for Jerome, being away from each other longing to see one another.

Respect was a very important aspect for both Jerome and Vanessa and it was there and anybody who was blind would see this too.

Being long distance can become draining to a certain degree not seeing one another as well as seeing one another, so it got to the place where Jerome did not even bother answering Vanessa’s messages when she emailed him faithfully.

How many people of this universe could possibly do what these two were doing without giving out and perhaps giving up on one another, but Vanessa kept right on with her imaginary affair of her secret lover.

Vanessa kept right on being faithful to Jerome and she could only imagine how messages of how she felt about him there were on his cell phone.

Vanessa in this case and story could only really speak for herself, even though throughout her story she speaks from her heart about the feeling she shares with Jerome and what and how he felt for her.

What man would not want a woman who is so dedicated, sincere, loving and honest being faithful the whole entire time while waiting for her man that God had put back into her life.

She held onto believing that God would not put somebody into your life and then take them away, but then she would think is possible for God to take somebody out of our lives for something better to come along also, yet put this special person into your life from the past?

The only way for an affair such as this to work like Jerome and Vanessa, is by being authentic and honest always with each other and don’t pussyfoot around about how you feel and being yourself by expressing your feelings.

Vanessa was the type, sometimes she should not say anything for the slip of the tongue Cannot be taken back, but even though God forgives us, but she did not want to hurt Jerome not the least bit at all.

Vanessa could feel God’s presence also, and this may sound crazy, but she did really feel that she was being watched, but by who she did not know, but knew God had something to do with this.

Many times birds, i.e. crows would come close upon Vanessa when she went into her backyard and the squirrels were excessively aggressive towards her also and it seemed as though they felt comfortable around Vanessa!

Vanessa remembered reading that the crow is a spirited animal associated with life’s mysteries and magic. Yes, magic! The power of this bird as a totem and spirit guide is to provide insight and means of supporting intentions.

Also, crows are a sign of luck. Vanessa, wished they would bring her all of the luck and she really did not believe in luck, but did watch when the crows lurked near her presence.

Also, she read that if the crow has chosen you as their spirit or totem animal, it supports you in developing the power of sight, transformation and connection with life’s magic. What exactly this means, she did not know.

So, when you encounter a crow, just tune into its behavior as Vanessa did, and she was a true animal and really paid a lot of attention to all of God’s creatures, for she felt they did show us the way.

Vanessa figured out that if you take on challenges together, as she and Jerome did even though faraway from each other, it would make the struggle all the easier to handle the physical distance and you could even get closer and surely learn a lot about one another too.

So, Vanessa and Jerome were a team working from afar ’A secret lover team so to speak.’

Vanessa felt that even if you aren’t miles apart, you want to find the right balance of interaction, and spice the communication with surprises here and there. You want to handle challenges as a team and become even closer this way too.

In a good relationship when it is the first or second time around Vanessa found out that she could not make the distance define her feelings for Jerome?

It is what it is and Jerome and Vanessa could only do their best today right now in loving one another and work toward a life together with patience and faith in God. Vanessa found out through her faraway affair that distance doesn’t kill love but to doubt would and therefore, she gave her best in choosing love over doubt most of the time.

Sometimes Vanessa felt she was not strong enough and let her fear creep in, but remaining prayerful and faithful to God helped relieve her frustration all of the time.

Vanessa kept herself grounded when she felt like throwing or tossing the towel in through her faith in God and even talking with her friends who gave her an ear to listen. Mostly, Vanessa had to uplift herself by laughing and keeping inspiration in her life and with her assigned angels from God this really helped her a lot and kept her spirits motivated.

Vanessa gained from all of this that when you kept yourself grounded the feeling of love would come back on its own and laughs gently on her worried mind too also helped.

There is not a relationship which does not face challenges and often doubts may be a problem or even a plague for us sometimes too. After all, it is our mind which causes doubt and Vanessa chose to be the one who choose to take on a very different perspective of not worrying.

Vanessa and Jerome were always beside each other and remained in each other’s hearts no matter what and remained long-distance lovers eternally.

Chapter 5……. Blessing from Heaven Vanessa found that while she was waiting for Jerome, she got to do things which she did not even know that she was capable of doing in her life.

Vanessa began doing blogs in WordPress and started many inspirational and motivational pages on Facebook and this includes all of the many music pages she was a member of as well.

She did not realize that she had all of this inside of her but waiting for Jerome seemed to bring this out of her. Vanessa could not believe all of the work she accomplished since God had put this man into her life and even though Vanessa this was all God’s doing….it still felt like Jerome was a big picture of this.

She remembered a song he sent to her awhile back the lyrics said something like they don’t know you. And…Jerome was right and now they do know Vanessa and the only person who doesn’t know her is herself and she could not believe all of the work she had accumulated over the waiting years. She wrote a story way back and it was called “I Found Love on Facebook” and wow, since then she has created so much she could not believe how much hard work she had put into getting her writing published.

Each and every time before Vanessa touched her keyboard of her laptop computer she prayed and asked God to touch every single thing she wrote and prayed to God to touch others as he had touched and anointed her.

Vanessa also prayed that it would not only help her and Jerome, but that it would inspire others too.

Vanessa always wanted to stress that anything you want in life, you must act like you want and work hard day and night as if you are already a millionaire.

Vanessa considered these blessings from God and she always prayed others but when she prayed for her and Jerome, she would pray that God would bless them both from their head down to their toes blessing everything they touched and made it where it would not only be beneficial to them, but to others as well.

She also prayed that she would be able to do more things for her grandson which she had not been able in the past.

So, Vanessa really considered it a blessing to be waiting on Jerome, even though it was very tough at times, she kept herself busy and so did he working together as a team on Facebook.

There were so many music pages, Vanessa often wanted to scream, but she loved the music and music was her medicine and together he supplied and she listened and sometimes Vanessa would share a post of an interesting photo, description, etc. and attached music to it also.

With Jerome being an artist and great genius musician, he knew a lot about many different kinds of music and the history. He also knew and has worked with many late great legends, so when it came to music he was the man!

He was Vanessa’s genius and the love of her life and what a smart man God had sent back to her from her past who she would be with for the rest of her days.

Vanessa loved many of the songs which he played the drums and her favorite of the groups for which he performed was the incredible classic group the Five Stair steps, “Ooh Child.�

This song just by listening to made Vanessa feel very close to him and with the sounds of the drums made it almost seem like he in was the same room with her.

Another song which Vanessa loved listening to which made her think of Jerome was his group Mutiny and the beautiful song ‘Moments – Jerome Brailey & Mutiny’ from the “Aftershock CD” and the words were incredible and so very beautiful and this song really reminded Vanessa of a fairytale story which was their love story for sure.

So, Vanessa imagined this was their fairytale song and the lyrics were marvelous and so reminded her of her amazing drummer man Jerome.

Vanessa had so much music that would comfort her which would remind her of this amazing love of her life, Jerome.

There was so much incredible music that he had been a part of which made Vanessa feel as though she was right there with him always.

Another song she loved and you had to hear to appreciate the lyrics and this was called ‘Desires’ by Jerome Brailey & Mutiny from his Aftershock CD, and it seemed it was just made especially for Vanessa, even though she knew it wasn’t.

She knew from another time he had written especially for her. Vanessa really had an imaginary mind and this song was the perfect song.

Jerome was quite the romantic and these lyrics sounded so much like something he would say or sing.

Vanessa pretended he did just for her and that he had been looking for her for a very long time and he was hoping and praying that she would hear this song and come back to him.

It worked and Vanessa and Jerome found their way back to one another too.

Jerome had so many songs which she listened to which Vanessa called her medicine and she had a dose a day upon waking and before sleeping.

This incredible man was so talented and so was Vanessa and when they came together they did so much with each other and it seemed like it was a match made in heaven for sure.

Vanessa especially loved the way Jerome encouraged her and he would leave her alone the real Vanessa would come out and you know? It worked too and Vanessa did not know she had so much talent until she and the man of dreams came into her life.

You know it takes great imagination when you hear the name of a group and any of their music gives you this great feeling of comfort, because you know that this incredible person whom you love with all of you might once contributed and was a part of that organization or band; even though he may not have even played at that particular time, you still felt a sense of comfort knowing that he was a part of them at one time. And that particular band’s music is good to the earhole at any time because that music reminds you of them is an incredible feeling.

This is what Vanessa held on tightly to, his music, and it was so wonderful that he had so much talent that was being shared by many including her most of all to keep her comforted when he was not there, but he was because of his great participation and contribution to music history.

It is almost like when you graduate from college and once you graduate or even go to that college you are always an alumni and you can come back at any time and feel right at home, because you at one time of your life had a great part by being a student there!

Jerome played with legends like the Chambers Brothers, the Unifics and also he played with the great group Parliament/Funkadelic where he even co-wrote the song, “Give up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker), with George Clinton and Bootsy Collins.

Vanessa had so much good music which would keep her from missing Jerome and it helped a lot and made the wait all the better. The good thing for Vanessa was that she knew eventually she would be together with Jerome again, but in the meantime, his music would have to do for now until later!

Vanessa held onto others music and songs too and one in particular by Motown’s legends the Supremes, ‘The Day Will Come Between Sunday and Monday.”

This song made Vanessa believe that nothing was too good or bad which would ever stop she and Jerome nor keep them from seeing one another one day and it would for sure be between Sunday and Monday definitely!

The other song which put a smile on Vanessa’s face was ‘Our Day Will Come’ by Ruby and the Romantics and she knew it would and this song just put reassurance into Vanessa’s lovely head and heart too.

Vanessa thought this song was made especially for she and Jerome for sure and every word was meant for them!

Chapter 6…. Music Says What Words Cannot “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.” ~ Victor Hugo Vanessa had a list of so many songs that she had written in a journal and they were so many which she would post on a special page she had started for Jerome. Vanessa, saw a photo of Jerome and another woman awhile back on his page that special page dedicated to Jerome down for she honestly did not want to heat up the fire and cause problems for him. The woman on the photo with him even mentioned to me in a note quite a few times how I was making myself look stupid by attacking her man.

Vanessa being the sensitive individual she was immediately taking the page down and even deleted herself from being Jerome’s friend. She did it out of fear and did not trust in God and that God had sent this man to her, but God never said it would be easy, but Vanessa found out the hard way that she could not allow herself to become hateful nor vindictive and it was not her nature to do neither of those things.

So she pulled back for a while and this is when Jerome started calling Vanessa and the things they would speak about were honest and upfront and she believed him.

It was not that Vanessa did not believe that he had love for her, but Jerome really did not know exactly where I was coming from and had to take precautions and Vanessa understood,

because once you have bit in the butt it takes trust and us getting closer to God and staying faithful and prayerful.

So meanwhile, on the ranch that is all history and when it comes to music, it can express what we cannot in our own words. Vanessa could pretty much express how she felt with words, poetry, stories, but it made it all the better with the music.

Vanessa would take those songs and she would dissect those songs and she did not want to hurt Jerome in any shape, fashion or form, so she really listened closely and it even got to the place where Vanessa Googled the lyrics and made sure they were the original lyrics before she even posted it.

There were a few times the songs she posted were not what she thought them to be and words can hurt others, and she did not want to hurt the love of her life, at least, not intentionally.

It happens to the best of us and this why there is forgiveness and you can very easily say you are sorry, but Vanessa did not want to hurt this man’s feelings even when she was upset.

Now‌there would be a few times she would post songs when she was pretty upset, but afterwards, she would feel really silly and would apologize or back off for a moment until she took deep breaths and inhaled happy and exhaled sad.

Vanessa, did not really want to hurt this man because she was in love with this man and you don’t hurt anything or anybody who you say you are in love with at least Vanessa did not want to!

Vanessa shared a list of just a few of the many songs which she listened to and these songs helped her to maintain and some of them made her smile, some made her cry happy tears, but most of all, they made her happy to send them to him and hoped Jerome appreciated them as much as she did.

You have sworn Vanessa was a surgeon the way she dissected those songs before she posted them to Jerome and she was very sensitive and did not want to hurt the man she loved, not even one teeny tiny bit.

Now, you really want to hear what music is really about, then take note and listen to each and every one of these songs.

This is good music and they don’t make music like this anymore and Vanessa does not know what she would have done without it!

Vanessa could not stop thanking God for all of the incredible music, and if it had not been for the music, she did not know what she would have done.

Not only did this music help Vanessa to occupy her mind from missing Jerome, but the ‘Medicine’ which Vanessa called it, alleviated and calmed sciatica nerve pain Vanessa dealt with.

And the more she listened to this music she noticed not to have as much pain as long as she was listening and it most importantly helped her not to miss Jerome as much!

Not only did music help with pain, but music helped with many other problems such as not being able to sleep and she would wear her headsets and it seemed as though the music calmed her body, soul and mind and actually put her in peaceful mode.

So……Vanessa used the influence of music in her life from then on.

Mainly, this music cured Vanessa’s longing for Jerome so she found ways to comfort herself by listening to lots of it every chance she got.

It had gotten to the to the place where she started doing research on music and it also helped to ease her mind and kept her mind off of missing Jerome too.

Vanessa loved all music and it all had the same effect on her mind, body and soul.

Yes, pain hates music and it helped Vanessa and can help you too if you believe.

This is where the music Jerome and Valerie played to each on Facebook came into play and Jerome had angels helping him to post and there were so many music pages, Vanessa could not keep up at times.

Vanessa was a perfectionist and at times it would aggravate her not being able to catch up, so she figured out ways to keep the music which she so loved from creating the problem she was trying to get rid of.

Vanessa and Jerome would attach beautiful pics to the music and it could have been anything from photos of beautiful artwork, quotes, various artist, beautiful countries, etc.

There were all kinds of pages on Facebook and anything you could possibly think of was right there on Facebook for Vanessa.

Vanessa really adored how Jerome made her smile all of the time and he could tell when Vanessa was sad and knew exactly what to do to put a smile onto Vanessa’s face. She also knew what to do to cheer him up too. They even put little sexy puns occasionally to remind each other for the love they missed and was about to endure for the rest of their lives.

WARNING: Music has been known to heal and cure many different illnesses and diseases, so if you are in any kind of pain from missing a loved one, to taking lots of medication which does quote the opposite of what they are supposed to, like heal your mind, body and soul, then listen to lots and lots, and you can stop when you want and listen to as much as you like to without any doctor’s approval.

Here are just a few songs Vanessa listened to and they are rare collections most of them and can be heard via YouTube and she advises you listen and enjoy too!

Vanessa’s favorite song was “ It’s You” by the Manhattans, “Love Letters” by Nat King Cole, “By Your Side” by Sade, “For You” by Azu, “I Can’t Live If Living is Without You” by

Mariah Carey, “He Is” by Brandy, “Halo” by Beyoncé, “Your Song” by Elton John, “No Air” by Jordin Sparks ft. Chris Brown, “No One” by Alicia Keys, “Kiss From Rose” by Seal, “Hang Onto Your Love” by Sade, “Eternal Flame” by Atomic Kitten, “Bring Me To Life” by Evanescence, “Better Than This” by Lemar, “Feels Right” by Lemar, “Not Without” by Lemar, “Better Than This” by Lemar, “Feels Right” by Lemar, “Not Without” by Lemar, “Teasing Me”

by The Shirelles, “Tick Tock” by Lemar, “Faithful” by Lemar, “The Reason” by Lemar, “You’re The One” by The Originals, “It’s You” by the Manhattans, “You’re My Life” by the Manhattans, “Thank You for the Many Things You’ve Done” by Betty Wright, and the list goes on and on and she listened to this music constantly.

The music is the only thing which kept Vanessa sane while waiting for Jerome, along with working and keeping her health up to par and mostly spending time with her family who she loved with all of her heart.

Well, when it came to Vanessa sleeping she really was not having too much of a problem and she really wanted to hear from Jerome in her dreams, but she was not connecting for some strange reason.

Vanessa often thought in this relationship it was mainly about not reaching Jerome in her dream, but as long as she felt him in her heart, she managed.

Some people have relationship problems, and in a long distance relationship you may have distance problems, but Vanessa was not having any of these, but she wanted to connect with Jerome in her sleep.

So, Vanessa kept on getting plenty of rest and prayed that she would see Jerome in her dream, but so far no Jerome.

“Was Jerome not sleeping, was he working too much, what was he doing?” Vanessa thought.

What Vanessa having dreams about was being in a lovely setting and God was feeding her wisdom, sort of connecting her to her creativity, and seemed God was putting her and Jerome on hold while she slept.

She knew God had never left her and wanted her to focus on His love and only His love, so Vanessa started writing.

Vanessa was given these amazing angels which God had sent to her and they would encourage her with photos, beautiful pictures and she would put words to them, both her words and others too.

Vanessa continued listening to her music and kept on working her butt off and sometimes the things which she was doing did not make much sense, but she figured “Well God is giving these things to me so I must obey God,” and continue to work effortlessly until her dreams come true.

Vanessa did have a problem and this was a problem from when she was very young and this was listening to her inner self. When you don’t listen you miss out and Vanessa felt that she was missing something, so she prayed and asked God to continue to give her faith, patience and guidance most of all.

It was so strange that these dreams took over Vanessa and she wasn’t dreaming about Jerome but about how to move mountains and she thought this has to be nothing but God. These dreams gave Vanessa the shivers because she dreamed she became a very powerful woman who came from a middle class family, but struggling on her own, determined and willing

to do about anything to prove to the world who she really was and what she had to offer to make a difference for our world.

Vanessa thought that if a woman released in such a way could actually move mountains with ease and joy would be the life she wanted.

God wanted Vanessa to know just how powerful she was when she believed in Him and had more faith and patience and listened to Him and not Jerome.

Vanessa actually was dreaming of what you need to bring all the intelligence and power within you out into the world, dreaming of what you need to feel filled up, well fed, and fully loaded and finally she was dreaming of what you could do if your self-care was sufficient enough to release all the skills, and wisdom, and creativity within you.

Vanessa felt herself getting even closer to God and He could not get to her when she was awake, therefore, He was getting to her while she slept and it stuck with Vanessa too and made her think.

God wanted Vanessa to know just how powerful she was if she kept her mind on Him and not on Jerome!

Maybe this is why Vanessa was not dreaming about Jerome in her sleep and God was taking care of him and she was not supposed to dream about him, but concentrate on God and get to know and be closer to Him. God loved Vanessa and He was showing her how she would be okay, and He would never leave nor forsake her.

God was in fact showing Vanessa just how better it would get if she stayed close with Him. In fact, Vanessa’s dreams were getting richer and also she was getting closer to God in her dreams.

Vanessa loved listening to her gospel music all of the time and as a matter of fact she loved music and all music was her most favorite!

Vanessa continued enjoying her wonderful dreams and also loved listening to her music to keep her focused but most of all, she remained in a relationship staying closer to God and she continued to pray and stay close to her Heavenly Father.

Chapter 7‌‌. Prayerful staying faithful to God

When life is hard and things may not be going the way you think they should, and we all go through struggles and in life they are inevitable, but destruction is optional, remembering these four principles can make all the difference.

Remember that your Character should always be stronger than your Circumstances.

We can’t always control what happens to us, but we can always control how we choose to respond. In those moments when I choose to stop complaining and instead give thanks to God for the good in my life, the parts that seem bad start to seem much less significant. Choose to keep a positive attitude and thankful heart regardless of what you’re going through.

“Rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 1. Remember that your Struggles always lead to Strength.

Every difficulty in your life, whether big or small, is something God will use to produce more strength, faith and perseverance in you if you let Him! All your pain has a purpose.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 2. Remember that God’s timing is always perfect.

God’s plans are almost always different from our plans, but His plans are always perfect!

Have the patience to wait on His timing instead of forcing your own.

“For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 3. Remember that God will never leave your side.

You may feel like you’re going through this struggle all alone, but from the moment you

ask Jesus to bring you into God’s family, He will be by your side to the end so never lose hope!

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 ~ AMEN Vanessa remained prayerful and faithful to God and she tried her best to stay on top of these four important facts from God’s holy word.

Vanessa figured that when her dreams seemed broken, it was just coming into better focus and God helped her to realize this and maybe why she was not dreaming about Jerome like her use to but he would always remain in her heart!

Vanessa had a prayer which she held onto and it went like this: Dear Lord, I know that I have been beautifully and wonderfully made, and I thank you for my life and for Your love. Thank you, also, for granting me a partner who is also beautifully and wonderfully made, who shows me some of Your character, and who brings me joy and fulfilment in ways I didn't even know I needed!

You are a gracious and loving God and I thank you for giving us the gift of being able to share that love with one another. Lord, you know my heart, and You know that I would much rather have my partner from far away than not at all.

You also know that sometimes my heart aches with the desire to be near my partner: to share life’s joys and to comfort each other when life is hard; to laugh together, to play together, and to be able to look one another in the eye and say “I love you,” even when resolving conflicts.

I know that You have a plan for us, and that Your plan is much better than one that I could devise. Right now it is so hard for us to be away from each other, so please, Lord, fill us with strength for the journey.

Help us recognize the value in each day, and to see each day as a new opportunity. Fill our hearts with compassion, understanding, and creativity to keep us strong when the pain seems too difficult to bear.

And please, Lord, if you will, help us find a way to be together soon. ~ Amen.

“Praying gives us all strength when we don’t even know we have any we can depend on God” Vanessa thought.

Vanessa held onto praying for others, receiving prayer, expressing her love and keeping herself busy working the hardest she had ever in her life.

Vanessa dream was to get a love story published so she listened to music and keep busy writing, even times when she did feel like it.

She had to meet her deadline and her publishers wanted to launch on or before Christmas of that year!

Vanessa often thought that God works in mysterious way and we just never know when He’s going to teach us a lesson, show us a sign when we need it most or bring wonderful people like he had done for her. You know your dreams are close to becoming true when God starts to put all of these amazing angels into your path and they come from nowhere.

After all, when Vanessa least expected it, God brought Jerome back into her life and they have been long-distance relation shipping it since!

Being this in this long-distance relationship has brought such hope and happy memories into Vanessa’s life which has made her all the more motivated to make magic happen in her life.

Vanessa loved challenges and they helped her face her fears and also taught her great lessons, especially when you’re in a relationship with a man who is thousands of miles away.

Vanessa laughed as much as she has in her life since God brought this amazing man into her life and it takes hard work when you want something so badly, but know you have a job to do first before it really happens.

Vanessa kept on believing that God works miracles but she had to do the hard work to make this happen, so she did.

As we grow together in our relationships with God, He will walk with us as we continue to learn about Him and each other.

Vanessa learned some great lessons with God’s help about being in a long distance relationship.

Again, Vanessa learned that striving and working hard comes with being in a longdistance relationship and it seems that God is making you prove to Him that He made the right choice for us and He wants to make sure that this is the one for you for the entire rest of your days on this earth.

And if it is for you, you will work for it like it is already yours and this not only goes for a relationship but for anything in life which has purpose to be in our lives, business, invention, books published, entrepreneurship, etc.

Number one lesson is we must not be unrealistic in our expectations because they can cause disappointment. By us being positive and having an open mind shows respect for ourselves and for others as well and also can prevent unrealistic expectations. Vanessa always realized that our seeing each other can be unrealistic and we don’t know when we will see each other again or if we will. We don’t know when we will see each other again or if any unexpected circumstances

will arise, but it makes the time we do have to spend together, even if faraway that much better.

In other words, we should never take each other or that time for granted.

Vanessa believed that what helps us to remain focused is remembering that God is in control and He strengthens our relationship. A verse she kept in mind was Philippians 4:13 “I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me.”

Second lesson is to lean on God and prayer through those tough times. We all have relationships which have their ups and downs and she and Jerome’s are not an exception to the rule… especially with long-distance relationships. These are the times we miss the most or when we just need a hug or kiss from them. These times can be very tough…but often when that happens is when Vanessa prays about she and Jerome eventually seeing each other, and it can help to ease the mind. Again, holding onto God’s love, not yours and his at this time.

Vanessa found that being able to lean on God for strength is so necessary during times we may be our weakest and this is a verse she constantly read and held onto in those tough times from Proverbs 3:5-8 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and He will show you the right way. Never let yourself think that you are wiser than you are; simply obey the Lord and refuse to do wrong.”

The third lesson Vanessa learned was that communication is of the utmost important, especially when in a long-distance God given relationship. God will start and begin putting all of these amazing angels into our paths who have all of these awesome resources you have prayed about and you have to know how to communicate and let them know exactly what it is that you need and what you want.

One of Vanessa’s biggest pet peeve was when she was a little girl, she missed a lot because she did not allow the other person to finish their conversation and as an adult she often caught herself doing the same. But, Vanessa learned how to be quiet and peace would bring about all the help she needed and just listen and pay attention and God will provide what we need, not what we want.

Vanessa learned how to meditate and just let the moment be the moment... and took deep breaths and inhaled happy and exhaled sad and did this when she became overwhelmed and anxious. She found that what works for us may not necessarily work for others, but we must find our own method to our own madness to relax us and being meditating and/or listening to music was the effective way of her healing.

Vanessa found that Proverbs 19:20 shared a good piece of advice, “If you listen to advice and are willing to learn, one day you will be wise.”

The fourth and last lesson Vanessa learned was that neither of us are perfect and forgiving will make us both stronger in our long-distance relationship. We are human and we all make mistakes and it was very easy for Vanessa to say she was sorry… and she would do it with her words or even through music she played for Jerome. He also did the same for Vanessa.

Vanessa thanked God for mistakes for without them, how would we ever get better are even learn great lessons? We all will say and do things which won’t make each other happy at times and admitting or forgiving that person and most importantly being humble through our challenges will teach us in the end.

Forgiveness can be really hard and sometimes we are in situations where we can forgive but cannot forget, but we must pray and remain humble and admitting that we were wrong is essential in any relationship.

So admitting when we’re wrong and being humble through the challenges will teach us in the end and most of all forgiving is essential for a loving relationship.

A good place to go in the bible which helped Vanessa to remain grounded was 1 Corinthians 13:7 “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.” ~ Amen The lessons Vanessa learned taught her that during a long distance relationship, we will face challenges and learn lessons along the way…. and…we will cherish the time we spend together making each other laugh also…. and we must believe that God has His hand on our relationship and is in control of what our future holds.

Vanessa and Jerome shared scriptures with each other on social media and reading the Bible can feel somewhat…unfruitful and downright confusing some of the time but Isaiah 55:11 teaches us that reading the scripture is never unproductive and God’s word transcends circumstance and time.

Vanessa found that it really is true what the Bible states and if she and Jerome have not seen each other in over 30 years and still friends and waiting to see each other, only after she finishes what God has for her, it is nothing but God and only God who has these miraculous powers to make us who we are and that is even more powerful and stronger.

If you have ever been in a long distance relationship you know what Vanessa means and prayer is what we must do in order for it to even work.

Vanessa and Jerome found that scripture not only strengthened their relationship but also made them both remain together even when and while separated. It reminded her that our relationship with God is the most important denominator we share even though being far apart for most and all of our relationship life.

Remember when Vanessa held that Bible up to her forehead and prayed to God to send her somebody who would be with her until the end of time, accepting all of her flaws…. well it works! The Bible and its scriptures connected both Jerome and Vanessa on a very deep level and still does.

Reading scripture which is very personal also informs our behavior and Galatians 5:22 did this for Vanessa “But the spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control.”

Vanessa also found that Scripture not only tells us to love each other 1 Peter 4:8, but also how that love should be expressed: “Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish; love does not keep a record of wrongs, love is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope and patience never fail.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 In Vanessa and Jerome’s long distance relationship, scripture always accomplished its purpose and even brought a beautiful peace and reassurance. And…even binds the heart and minds of people even if they are far apart from one another explore it and read words that speak directly to their hearts.

Vanessa figured that in her relationship with Jerome that it was because of scripture which actually laid the foundation of their lives together.

It also brought the two of them peace and even though it was a long distance relationship it had been their guide in the present which strengthened their future.

Vanessa just felt this and was so excited to complete her book even more and felt this was the project which God wanted her to finish before she and Jerome saw one another.

Vanessa felt in her heart that God had to have something to do with her and Jerome’s relationship because there were so many verses in the bible relating to “Long-Distance Relationships.” To be exact there 35 Bible verses relating to long distance relationships and probably more overlooked by us.

“For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.” – Colossians 2:5 “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.” – 1 Corinthians 13:7 “Love is patient and kind; loves does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all thins, hopes all things, and endures all things.” ESV – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Chapter 8…. Less is best You know the old saying that ‘Less is more?” Well, when in a long distance love affair, it can be best if you don’t communicate that much.

I know you probably are saying, “What?” Well, staying close in touch can run into problems and in a long distance relationship, less really can be the best. The relationship can otherwise become very possessive and even sticky. You don’t have to communicate with each other 24/7 to keep the relationship running smoothly.

I have heard of many couples who really thought that by staying in touch was what is needed, but being faraway from each other can actually cause problems where there are not. Say for example you are calling and they don’t answer and you cannot get in touch with them this could lead to suspicion and wasted energy also wondering and worrying. They may become busy and just cannot speak then. It can actually make things so much worse by keeping in contact with each other all of the time.

Less is best and what we know is even better not knowing and just keep those positive thoughts flowing in your head keeps for a better faraway relationship and keep in your head that you are going to eventually meet for the first time in many years one day.

Vanessa, has had no big problems and had gotten so use to not speaking with Jerome, it just became second nature and was a ritual of trust on both of their part of being away from each other.

Vanessa’s grandmother use to tell her an old saying when she was a little girl and it can hold to be true in long distance relationships too.

“If you want to live together, you first need to learn how to live apart.” ~ Carrie This is such a true statement and less is best, but depends on the individuals in the relationship and how they both are with the trusting one another.

Keeping in touch, texting, chatting, etc. is also and can be very exhausting and is really about teasing one another at the right moments and pushing the right spots too.

Vanessa found that there were all kinds of sensual ways to show your love for one another without communicating physically and she and Jerome would send sexy songs or very loving photos which showed their affection for one another.

Jerome sending sweet messages through music or just remarks he would make, would put smiles on Vanessa’s face she even smiled when she sent them to him, imagining the look and smile upon his face.

It actually made Vanessa happier when she would take control and send beautiful honeymoon resorts or lovely photos of a happy man and woman embracing with nice music which reminded her of them together. Vanessa especially loved to send special personal birthday greetings, etc. to Jerome and this also made her smile too.

There would be some days Vanessa would go without speaking to Jerome, but not on purpose but she would always make it up to him the next time she did.

But when you start something remember…we must keep it up and can cause the other person to think you are either mad at them or something wrong when you don’t respond.

So if you start this you must keep it up, so Vanessa would make up if she missed speaking to Jerome and one of her famous sayings was “In case I forgot to tell you I love you I love you more than yesterday.”

You see there are many ways to be sweet to that person you love who is far away from you but remember if you start something you must finish what you started!

You can also recommend or post movies that you have watched and maybe he/she will want to check them out too! She even started sending really good love movies or films and attaching along the song from the movie and she loved doing this and knew he would love too.

Vanessa liked to spice things up a bit too and would send sexy photos of not herself, but of others to her man with sweet words to let him know how she feels and what she has in mind for him when they do meet.

You want to keep them in suspense so they will want to see you and if you send those photos of yourself in the best moments, it may not go over to well and could make them sad more than anything else knowing that they cannot have you just then and that moment.

So, it is best to keep the less is best policy and keep them waiting for the moment when you two will finally get to see one another a secret or keep them in suspense.

Again, it depends on the individuals themselves and what works best for your long distance relationship. What worked for us may not necessarily work for another couple.

Chapter 9‌.... Distance deepens trust and friendship Vanessa was not your ordinary woman and if there were any woman who could have done what she did they would be pretty special like she was!

Jerome and Vanessa had a secret relationship not like none other in the world. Could you be away from the person you love without ever speaking to them?

Jerome had a very strong love for Vanessa and she for him. She trusted him with all of her heart and soul and by being close to God, she could not ever have made this relationship work nor last.

It had gotten to the place where Vanessa would look at herself in the mirror and say, “Girl you are one bad lady and Jerome is one lucky man to have you. You are strong and there is no other woman on this planet that would be in love with a man so much that she refused to give up on him ever!

Weariness can be the demise of any relationship, particularly in the sex and sentiment office. Wouldn't it be extraordinary if each time you could feel special while not even being together?

Think about it, “When you are only seeing your partner maybe once a year or in Jerome and Vanessa’s case, had not seen each other in many years, it makes sense to put in a little extra effort doesn’t it? After all long distance couples don’t particularly know when or how often they will be seeing each other and are often forced to flirt with one another on an ongoing basis.”

Long distance relationships don’t have to deal with everyday responsibilities that many couples fight about. Vanessa loved it that she and Jerome did not have to deal with these issues and although falling into an everyday routine with a partner is nice, we show you how special a relationship essentially be and loving even long distance with less hassle.

Long distance affairs show you how important it is to make your time together special as without not being together all of the time. Distance actually can deepen the trust amongst the two of you if there is being in love involved.

In Vanessa’s case, she had never been in love before, and only from this long distance relationship was she ever able to be in love for the very first time in her life with Jerome.

What a wonderful feeling to be IN LOVE for the very first time in your life and what a good feeling it is! You get anxious and excited to be with that special person but the wait is all worth it because you know eventually you will be with this person for the rest of your living days for life.

It does not say anywhere in the Bible that God promises to make things happen overnight and Vanessa has learned when God is part of the plan it will be a true test and only God knows the time span, not us!

Have you ever actually researched God’s step-by-step process for bringing about a marriage the biblical way?

Well, Vanessa did her homework and found out that

in

Jesus’ graphic parable of the Two

Houses in Matthew 7:24-27, our Lord compares the Christian life with two ways of building a

house: one upon shifting sand (man’s ways), the other upon solid rock (Christ’s ways). Consider how this applies to constructing a marriage through dating versus betrothal. The foolish man built his house upon sand without keeping the future in mind. He never pondered the unfailing truth that seasons change, that the wind and rain will eventually come. And when they burst against that house, it fell, and great was its fall. Like a house with a sandy foundation, a relationship that is not founded upon God’s five fundamental principles of scriptural romance (piety, patriarchy, purity, preparedness and patience) will often collapse in divorce when the relational storms come – and they always do!

But like the betrothal approach to marriage, the wise man built his house to last a lifetime. He knew that it must weather intense storms. So when the wind and rain burst against that house, it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock. Two builders: foolish and wise; two foundations: sand and rock; two outcomes: destruction and stability. Christ’s analogy applies to marriage just as much as to houses.

Let’s compare these two building approaches more closely. Each building system involves four relational steps toward marriage. The worldly way of relationship building includes friendship, dating, engagement and the wedding. We’re only too familiar with this. The biblical method likewise begins with friendship, but then moves through courtship and betrothal to finally arrive at the wedding. Though they may look alike on the surface, these two practices of relationship building are really very dissimilar at every point and result in radically different outcomes.

As Barton Goldsmith, psychotherapist and blogger for Psychology Today explains, “The healthiest way we can interact with those close to us is by being truly interdependent. This is

where two people, both strong individuals, are involved with each other, but without sacrificing themselves or compromising their values.” ” So, instead of watching yet another episode of that show you hate together in an effort to bond, it's better for your relationship to take up that hobby you've been putting off, visiting that friend you haven't seen or just taking some time for yourself.”

“Long distance relationships come with their own set of problems. Let's face it, not seeing your partner can get really lonely. However, couples toughing it out long distance are not doomed to fail. They might even be able to teach the rest of us a thing or two.”

When it is all said and done we all relate to one another in many different ways, according to Dr. Goldsmith, “some people are very independent in relationships, others are dependent, and a number of people are co-dependent (which means they put aside their own life to maintain a relationship with another.”

Vanessa and Jerome were two of the strongest in love individuals who worked together while faraway from each other in a way of speaking, and that is for sure, and he was working his butt off and she was too all the while being apart from each other’ yet still maintaining that secret contact with one another through their music, posts, inspiration, prayers, chatting, etc. to one another.

What they did while apart was made history when it comes to FUNK music which never got its awards like other music did!

Jerome and Vanessa were two people in love, yet willing to work themselves while being away from one another and did they ever work like two crazy people.

Vanessa refused to give up on her man and what really kept her sane was knowing that eventually one day they would see each other.

She had a photo of him on her screensaver and it was the cutest thing what she did every morning, noon and night before she went to bed. Vanessa would kiss her finger and touch Jerome’s photo and just smiled as if he were right there in her presence and believe it or not, this kept her satisfied and she knew that it was in God’s time, so she made the very best of what she had in that moment even if meant kissing a photo of Jerome!

Vanessa refused to give up on anything she touched and so she kept herself busy believing that anything she touched would eventually turn to pure gold. She figured God wanted her to have her own life when she and Jerome finally met! God did not want her to get into a relationship without having her dreams come true.

So she stayed busy working and praying constantly and prayed most of all for her invention she had done a business plan and submitted to the World Patent Marketing Organization. She prayed constantly for God to show her signs and God was answering her daily and showing her that He was making her dreams come true and she would just have to remain patient in order for them to come true, so she did!

She got a book done and had lot of writing she had produced and turned into readable blogs, she had started to do and work hard at what she did not even know was a gift from God of hers and she began to get things coming at her, sometimes confused what to with, but she would pray and God would help her out.

When it came to Jerome she made sure he got things which he so deserved and also recognized and he was one of the smartest men she ever known. Jerome was the type who did the work and when he worked, did he ever work hard; but never got any recognition nor equal

pay. They both were the types who would be responsible back stage for the way everything you heard when in the audience which was perfect to the ears kind of people and neither of them really wanted to be known for what they did, they just did it.

Being a nice guy most of the time does not make you a pushover who can just be taken advantage of. Neither Vanessa nor Jerome were into being in the limelight, but they were both smart, generous and sometimes this can be taken for weakness, but when a man his woman by his side and they work together amazing things can happen! You see‌God had these two in the palm of his hands and He gave Vanessa what to write about all of the time and so she did.

God would take care of them both while they both took care of each other from faraway from each other.

Is this love or what between these two?

They both loved God, they both prayed together, they both worked together even though they were thousands of miles apart, they communicated to one another in their own beautiful way through music, they speak to one another anonymously, and they even talked dirty to one another which is so needed in long distance relationships, yet remain honorable to one another and Vanessa definitely was not even looking at other men anymore and she knows Jerome was dedicated to one woman at a time!

They were not your average everyday couple who were missing one another deeply, but they did what had to be done to get to one another one day.

Vanessa often wondered is he waiting on me and what is that I should be doing?

So, Vanessa prayed and asked God to guide her and show her what it is she was to be doing at this moment God being the amazing God He is, He answered her!

Chapter 10‌. Magic in the music The whole time Vanessa and Jerome were courting on Facebook, it involved music and it got to the place there were so many places which had all kinds of music everywhere.

Jerome was very music literate and knowledgeable and when he worked‌he worked in teams and Vanessa noticed there was music beginning to come from all around the world and mainly places which were on her bucket list to travel one day and she also learned to work in groups and as a team leader you could say!

Vanessa was a self-starter and she loved challenges too and she did not need much direction, but was a good follower and in order to be a good leader one must first be a good follower. She loved with working with others and did not realize how much until the Facebook music thing began.

God was showing Vanessa how to be a great team leader for running a conglomerate organization and she felt it and it was very powerful and she was becoming very powerful too learning how to be there for your team members, yet complimenting them and showing them love all of the time.

But, the most important thing was even if you own your own company, and are the CEO, you should be willing to help them out when there is a problem and be willing to jump right in help with fixing that problem as a team, but most of all is listening to your team in a crisis before it become a crisis which will affect the customer or audience.

When there are great leaders there are great organizations or teams and when help is needed if you come together as one things can be repaired before they get out of hand.

Most of all again Vanessa learned that listening is most important to what their needs are.

If their needs are met, then there is less problems which does not have to affect the customers.

Once it affects the customer, then we got major issues staring with looking at ourselves.

Vanessa learned from her Facebook friends from all around the world, team players, administrators, music, etc. posting experiences; that great leaders make great teams, great teams create great organizations and great organizations have and keep repeat customers coming back.

If you only have a few customers, you are winner and that is repeat customers from the experience which you gave to them which keeps them coming back for more.

Giving and creating that red carpet service experience means a lot and when you get the same customers or listeners who are supporting you and working with you, then you can depend on word of mouth for you are working together as a team showing love and respect for one another.

People will feel and can tell when you really care about them and you become this magnet for repeat business and that great business ethic creates repeat customers and you don’t have to have a lot, but others will want to be a part of that wonderful way you make them feel always and this creates those customers letting others know well they were treated and you got your advertisement for new business as well.

Vanessa just wondered why she could tell others how and what to do, yet she could not get one single customer to use her business?

Vanessa also learned that if more companies, organizations would work together as a team and even the CEO and managers helping and mainly knowing what is actually going on and seeing what their employees need and are doing, there would be so many more successful and satisfied customers in this world and we would have so much less lawsuits too!

Vanessa not only learned on Facebook about great team leaders, but being an Organizational Leadership major student, she learned how crucial it was for the company’s success and most of all for the great customer service experience which is shared with each person who comes through that door is within any organization for them to survive and be able to grow globally is from great team leadership within the organizations greatness of leaders.

There were so many music pages with different names on Facebook she felt like she was in Music World instead of Disney World, but this music helped Vanessa cope and also helped her with her nerve pain she acquired being born with scoliosis from a baby.

It seemed everything Vanessa was touching was from God and had a lesson to be learned and even though half of the stuff Vanessa had been doing did not connect until she began her writing it all started to come together.

Vanessa thought, “Wow God is an amazing God and we may not know or even understand; but when God has His hands on us, it is not for us to understand but we must learn from these great lessons as we travel this great journey.

All that matter to Vanessa is that God was always with her and that was all that was important to her.

The music did something which pain hates and that was made it leave. Music is one of the best healers which eases pain, helps relieve you from missing somebody, to sleep at night, and you name it music does it!

The most important thing about music which Vanessa and Jerome held onto was how music could speak what words could not and this is how at times they would express their love for one another.

Jerome created his love all over the place for Vanessa with music and he was a genius when it came to all types of music and he was a master in knowing people, places and many things which helped Vanessa really remain focused.

There love was an undying love with affection all over Facebook and everywhere you looked you would see how they cared for one another through what we will call secret signals or signs through music, photos, expressions, quotes, inspiration, motivating one another, etc.

Vanessa started something that she now had to finish so the both of them worked day and night and while one rested the other worked. At least this is what God was showing Vanessa.

But, then Vanessa realized that this must mean that God had something much bigger for her, so she thanked Him, for He always showed her the way!

Vanessa learned that God takes away from us to prepare for others to be in our lives and even though she talked and loved Jerome, God had a much bigger picture which Vanessa was to be a part of and He wanted nothing to interrupt her focus.

God is the big part to do with everything in our lives and when we give our lives over to Him this is what happens to us and for us by God. This is where the long distance creating trust when you really love somebody and you have no doubts about their caring for you, for God has chosen them for you, and God does not lie to us ever, so we must do as He shows us and listen very carefully.

She knew that Jerome was a God fearing and kindred spirited big hearted man too and he was so worth the wait no matter how long it took, but when God is a part of the bigger picture, watch out great things are about to hit the fan, Vanessa thought. So, Vanessa waited on God! It she knows but he could not say that very much, but she knows he had something to do with, for anything Vanessa did, she shared with Jerome and she trusted him from the time they found one another.

Vanessa followed her heart, but by the way things were occurring, she was not quite sure still, so she prayed and asked God for His help!

Chapter 1…. God Answers Her Prayers Vanessa wanted to see Jerome so badly, so what did God do?

He fixed it where Jerome and his crew had to visit her hometown of Saint Louis, MO. Vanessa was so excited and thought, “Well he may be coming for business, but at least I get to see him again!”

Vanessa was so excited and was preparing for this great meet with the man whom she loved more than life itself.

“But…would this visit be the way she expected?” Not exactly and when she first walked in, the first face she saw was Jerome. She ran to him and was thinking that he would be way more excited to see her than he was, but then he was there on business and she had respect him taking care of his business first, so she did!

She ran to him and looked up at him! It was like God had answered her prayers, but little did Vanessa know that this would not be the time for them. Vanessa did not know that God was answering her prayers, but for her to only see that her love of her life was okay.

Vanessa had never felt so dumbfounded ever in her life, before when the man of her dreams was coming and she could finally run into his arms and he said, “What’s up Val!” Jerome introduced to her his friend and business partner and then they commenced to walk together on the inside where his business was to take place, and the lights went down.

She went to sit down and Jerome sat next to her! The next thing she knew he was moving and he moved way down on the other end. Now, Vanessa knew that their business was about to begin and they may have wanted to chat a bit before they approached the stage for questions and answers, but why did he move while the movie was going, she wondered?

Jerome had a female to sit next to her and she introduced herself to Vanessa and Vanessa did the same, but the whole time Vanessa was kind of puzzled as to what is going on up in here?

So, the movie began and she really enjoyed it!

After the movie, the lights were turned back up and Jerome and his business crew walked up to the stage for their question and answer period and it turned out to be awesome and people in the crowd had many good questions.

Vanessa, waited awhile and wanted to speak, but she did not know what she would ask, so as the others spoke she listened and came up with her question and actually spoke more congratulating them and welcoming them to her hometown and welcomed them to a place where she had volunteered once or twice in the past.

The question and answer period ended and Jerome and his crew walked back and Vanessa just knew that she and Jerome would hold one another, but Vanessa was thinking totally wrong and remembered, “This is strictly business, and I have to respect his business!”

Vanessa loved Jerome so bad that she would be willing to do anything for this man, but it was not what she really wanted to do, but knew in her heart that this was not the time.

Silently, Vanessa kept on thanking God for sending her faraway love back to her if only to see him for a short period of time.

She could barely stand the thought of him leaving her again, but he had to get back and where she did not really care, but only knew in her heart she wanted to leave with him, but she knew this was not going to happen.

God just kept on showing Vanessa, I never lie and you asked to let you see him to make sure he was okay and Vanessa thought, “You better watch what you ask God for, and what if He gives just that to you?” This is exactly what God did for Vanessa! He allowed her to see Jerome again for the second time around.

So, it came to leave and Jerome said, “We had better get to moving before they throw us out of here and Vanessa became a bit sad and did not want to hear that only if she were leaving with him, but God again…showed Vanessa that this was not the time nor place for their leaving together to be together forever.

Jerome walked her to her girlfriend’s car and they took picture on the cell phone and she was so happy that he was so close to her, yet still far because he was leaving her again for the second time around. Vanessa and her girlfriend got into the car and were going to give him a ride to his car, but he closed the door so fast!

It was really funny and Vanessa thought, “He probably thought we would kidnap him, and he was right would be her thoughts but would not have done that to this man who she loved more than life itself.

To be continued……..

But, it did not happen that way at all and Vanessa was so confused that she did not know what to do but keep her composure and not make a seen.

Vanessa made her appearance extra special for this man and could barely wait to see him and when she finally did, it was a disaster.

Jerome was there and when she first saw him, it looked he was signing an autograph or something for somebody. she didn’t quite know what to say or do, but ran to him and hugged him and he kissed on her on the cheek.

Not exactly what two people who had not seen one another would do after not seeing each other for over 30 years or more would do.

She was expecting him to be a bit happier to see her and she also thought she would be more excited to see him, but when friends no matter how long it takes to see one other it is like just as if you had seen one another yesterday.

Vanessa still believed it would be more excitement between the two of them when they saw each other for the first time since over 40 years to be more exact!

~ Never will be an ending to this relationship and be looking for more when they reunite again for the Second Time Around!