Miracle at Grace New Hope Church

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. After Dana had published the book, she realized she had forgotten to acknowledge Mr. Wayne. Feeling bad, she went to visit the church in hopes of seeing the man she’d met nine years earlier. He was sitting outside the church under a tent on a Thursday afternoon, next to a female volunteer. Dana wanted to drop off a copy of the book for the church. She mentioned to Mr. Wayne how he had inspired the story, but she figured he wouldn’t remember her. Dana’s heart melted when the man looked at her and said, “I remember you. You and your son brought me the POWERADES®.”

Later that evening, Dana received an email from the woman volunteer who’d been standing next to Mr. Wayne at the church. Attached was a copy of a note the man had written in his prayer journal. There, in black and white, were words of prayer for Dana and her son Jake. Prayers for safety for a young baseball player. She couldn’t believe the man truly remembered her and her son after all those years.

Dana invited Mr. Wayne and his wife to her book launch the following week. The couple showed up with smiling faces and celebrated the book’s success.

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Learning Lessons Continued from page 10 childhood. The Harvard Center on the Developing Child reports that children’s early life experiences influence their capacity for executive function skills, and laying the foundation for such skills is one of the most important tasks of the early childhood years.

All of the adults in a child’s life – parents, grandparents, teachers and others – therefore have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help set him or her on a pathway for success. And nurturing the executive function skills needed to succeed later in life doesn’t have to be difficult. Try the following fun activities for children at home: • Develop problem solving through play. Children work through their understanding of the world as they play. For example, when children play with blocks, they learn that putting heavier blocks on top make block towers tumble more quickly, but putting heavier blocks on the bottom make the tower stronger. • Promote critical thinking by asking thought-provoking questions. Whether you’re playing with blocks or at the grocery story, ask your child simple, open-ended questions like “Why do you think…” and “What if…” to inspire deeper thinking. Be sure to give your child plenty of time to answer the question, refraining from giving the answer yourself. • Encourage teamwork by leading by example. Children learn how to respond to others mostly by watching their parents and caregivers. Make it a point to model behaviors like listening and being respectful at home. • Cultivate self-control by giving instructions. Instructions don’t immediately sound like much fun, but singing songs like “The

Hokey Pokey” and playing games like Simon Says actually encourage self-control by requiring children to move in a specific way at a particular time. • Nurture adaptability through dramatic play. Children can November 2022 Our Town Gwinnett

practice adaptability – the ability to take in and adapt to new information – by using everyday objects in new ways, like turning a paper towel roll into a telescope. • Foster working memory by reading aloud. Consistently reading aloud with children reinforces sounds and letters, helping them learn and store information in a way that feels more like play. Take things a step further by making up a story together. As the story grows, your child will get more practice remembering the information.

By intentionally nurturing these skills during the first five years of life, parents and caregivers can help set children up for success that will last a lifetime.

Tanisha Turner is the Owner of Primrose School at Sugarloaf Parkway.

More information at www.PrimroseSugarloafParkway.com or call 770-513-0066.

Health Matters Continued from page 14 agement solution because it ensures that all cells are maximizing function and output. The results of this process are increased cognitive function, energy, diminished water retention, improved digestion, and elimination of waste from the body.

To facilitate wellness, I implore Traditional Naturopathic techniques, including muscle testing. I measure the energetic response to stressors and utilize Iridology assessment, zinc test, iodine test, urine analysis, food/lifestyle analysis, and nitric oxide tests. It is my passion to restore health so that my patients are able to live out their own passions and purposes.

Dr. Ronda Ward practices at Dr. Chris’ Natural Remedies in Snellville. For more info visit drchrisnaturalremedies.com PAGE 17