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Hugh Howell Marketplace 4650 Hugh Howell Rd, Ste 650 Tucker, GA 30084 (770) 538-1790

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By Traci Sanders

Many authors share their stories, but we don’t always hear the story behind the story. And author Dana Edwards, Ph.D. definitely has an interesting one for her new book Drive-Thru Miracle, which just released in April of this year.

It all began on a hot summer day in 2013. Dana was driving to the park for a walk when she passed by Grace New Hope Church and saw a man sitting under a tent next to a sign that read “drive-thru prayer.” As an author, Dana is always looking for unique themes and settings for her stories, so the next day she stopped by the church on the way to take her son to baseball practice. She’d shared her plan with her son to take some POWERADE® to the man at the church. “You chat with him for a bit while I go look around and see if I can find out what this drive-thru prayer thing is about,” she told her son.

“As it turned out,” Dana later shared, “this man’s name was Wayne Edwards – no relation to me – and he was a volunteer from the church. He asked if there was something he could pray about for my family. I don’t even remember what I said to him, but I had no idea that day how our meeting would play into my life later down the road.”

Time went by and Dana did write a story that was inspired by meeting Mr. Wayne that day – a story that was picked up by a publisher in 2020 and released in 2022. “It was a long process,” Dana recalled. “I pitched my story to several literary agents and finally found one, but they never were able to get my story signed with a publisher. I found a new agent, and within one month of submission, two publishing houses showed interest. My book was sold to Lifeway B & H Kids Publishing.”

Mae, the main character of the book, mimics Dana’s actions from that summer day of meeting Mr. Wayne. She sees a sign at a local church that says “drive-thru prayer” and sneaks around the church property to scope out the scene, just as Dana had done. And what she discovers changes her life forever.

Mr. Wayne isn’t the only character in the book that’s based on a real-life person. Shelby Grace, Mae’s sister, who has cerebral palsy and is wheelchair bound, is based on the daughter of a family friend of Dana’s. The young girl is also disabled.

then having to deal with disappointment. So, I feel a little numbed.

If you are like me and based on the past 36 months you just don’t know what to think, expect, wish, or even pray for the next 12 months, let me give you a quick word. 2023 has the potential to be a good year. Not because you won’t have hardships, but because in those hardships you have the potential to see God’s goodness. I believe God is good, and that is not based on what God does, but based on who God is. So, if God is good, and God is with us, I believe 2023 could be a good year.

Finally, I want to encourage you, if needed, to talk to someone. Life is hard enough to do it alone, and often we can see and find goodness while talking with others.

Bring it on 2023.

Rodrigo Cruz is the Lead Pastor of The Nett Church. More information at www.thenettchurch.com

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Chaplain’s Corner Continued from page 8