U Have No Idea: A Diary of Praise

U Have No Idea

A Diary of Praise

Aretha Johnson

Copyright © 2023 by Aretha Johnson

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

About the Author

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.

—Colossians 3:23 (NIV)

Most people that really know me know that I consider myself to be God’s favored child. I’m His friend, and He loves me. I’m not being arrogant nor uppity. I’m just saying what His Word tells me. It’s right there in the book of Proverbs 8:35 (NASB), which states, "For whoever finds me, finds life and obtains favor from the Lord." I believe it and that settles it. Thus being favored, the idea of me keeping a diary of what He is doing during the various seasons of my life came to me approximately 3½ years ago, and I decided to be obedient and go for it. I’ve chosen some of the diary to share. Never did I think I would be at a point to consider getting it published. It’s for me to catalogue my thoughts and life. After I’ve gone through this, maybe to get it at the published process, I’ll read it again and probably shout my way through most of it. The subtitle, A Diary of Praise, is exactly what this is.

I hear a lot of people use the phrase you just don’t know my situation. I agree. None of us really knows what the other person is going through in their lives. True, we are all going through something at any given time. No one knows your story like you know your story. I have learned that whatever time you look at and think of anyone that they must really have their life together, start praying because they probably don’t. For every person who ever said that to me—you have no idea. This is my praise diary of my journey.

This diary is for anyone else out there who’s going through their life’s storms and wondering, "Is there anyone else going through this same stuff? Am I the only one dealing with these issues?" The answer is adamantly no. You are not alone. While reading my diary, you may find something in here that you can relate to; you may not. I’m not saying you should praise your way through on your journey; however, I do highly recommend it.

I AM IN AWE!! I just finished your book, and I am a mess of emotions! Your writing is interesting. I couldn’t stop reading; inspiring.

Aretha, did an awesome job in sharing your journey to becoming a wife, mother, and woman of God!

I hope that I and other readers will use the inspiration you’ve shared to keep our eyes on God and live the life He has for us, in its entirety.

Jeanne Vernon

Life is Beautiful

It’s funny how God works.

I have to say that your book has truly blessed me. I laughed and cried!

Thank you for being obedient and sharing your diary with the world. It will truly bless many more.

Cherell Evans Latimer

Founder, A.C.E. Legaci Foundation

Author, Mentor

Acknowledgement

Special thanks to the following people who have blessed my life’s journey:

Absolutely, hands down, no doubt about it, the best husband a gal could dream of—Evan. Looking forward to what’s next in our lives.

The woman who taught me to be strong, serve God with all I have and how to show love to others and to never give up—Mrs. Dorothy Wells Smith-Jenkins.

The man who was the example of what qualities to look for in a man for my own life—Mr. Willie Jack Jenkins. He’s also the one who taught me my first bad word, Crapdabbit! LOL

Our two wonderful sons. You both have made my life fun, funny, interesting, scary, and most definitely blessed. You both have improved/changed my prayer life. Keep on doing what you do and watch God continue to show up and show out in your lives. You have no idea!

My family—simply stated—I love you all. You have no idea.

God, thank You! I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise will continually be in my mouth (Psalm 34:1).

CHAPTER 1

The ’80s, Inherited Blessings

As I sit here pondering life and rolodexing the chronicles of my life, I am astounded that the years have flown by. I am now eligible for the AARP card. Wow—when did this happen? I actually have the thought that I must have blacked out and awoken twenty years later. Surely, I was not having that much fun while living through the years of my twenties, thirties, and forties that fast! Apparently so.

Can I look back and say I had a blast of a great time? Yes, I can. Can I think back and wonder if it was all worth where it got me to today? Absolutely. Is there anything I would change? Nope. Changing it is not possible, and if it was, that would be scary. These thoughts bring me to what I was reading earlier today. Today’s motivation has the phrase start right where you are. That’s what I’m doing. Right now. Today. This minute. Thus this book. I’m releasing some of my life’s diary and telling my story while wondering what will come of this. Something? Nothing? Doesn’t matter. I asked God about it, and this is where He led me. It is true. It is scary, and it is funny to me to think that this is my life. Definitely interesting.

Beginning in summer 1983, I was nineteen, naive, unwed, pregnant, and confident. Wow. Five scary words to describe me. Thankfully, I didn’t listen to the naysayers and oh so helpful friends who said not to get married. I was told, Girl, go get yourself on welfare and put his behind on child support! None of that made sense to me. Particularly since the ones giving such advice did not know my baby’s daddy and obviously didn’t really know me. Did they not understand how I and my siblings were raised? Nope. My mama did not raise me with that mind-set. She too was confident, strong, and strongly believed in God, believing she could do all things through Him!

My mama was on crutches much of my life and confined to a wheelchair in her fiftyish and later years. Her attitude and demeanor were of such confidence that when I got in trouble in my childhood years, I actually thought she could and would let go of those crutches and run to catch me and I would get a good old-fashioned whooping for whatever I had done. In our house, you could find the neighborhood snack store or the kids’ weekly Bible study, depending on what day it was. All effectively and productively ran by my mama from her wheelchair. That is the kind of confidence she instilled