Clara
From Trials to Triumph
by
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Mrs. Snow glanced down as a big pool of water gushed out. The contractions were almost continuous now. With furrowed brow she lighted the lamps in the room. Where is that doctor? Mrs. Snow thought, It seems he's had long enough to get here by now. I've been here well over three hours.
Looking down at Inez, she thought, oh dear I don’t think the doctor is going to make it; however, Doctor Simons entered the room as a little dark head appeared. Having washed his hands at the kitchen sink in the wash basin, he eased the tiny body from its safe place in her Mothers womb... so tiny she was that she was almost swallowed up by the Doctors large hands. She looked dark blue, there was no cry and she wasn’t breathing.
He spanked her but she still wasn’t breathing. Laying her down took a syringe from his bag and cleared her throat. What took only moments to accomplish seemed like hours. Turning her upside down he gave her another good spank, moments seemed suspended in air, then the baby gave a feeble little cry. After he breathed a sigh of relief, he did the preliminaries and handed her over to Mrs. Snow to be cleaned up and rubbed with oil. “That certainly didn't take you very long Inez,” he committed. It must be because the baby is so small; she weighs in at just under two pounds."
"Oh thank God, I have my little girl. She's tiny that's true, but she looks like she’s determined." She smiled contentedly as she dropped off to sleep.
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About the Book
God has plans for all of our lives, and for one young girl growing up in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, in the early twentieth century, a bucolic country life with family would reveal to her the many ways that God was there to guide her toward her future.
In Clara—From Trials to Triumph, author Lois Hettinger reflects on the details of her mother’s early years and legacy as she shares her mother’s memory and story of being guided to adulthood by God. This touching narrative retelling is based on the true stories of Hettinger’s mother’s life growing up in Michigan, and this idyllic backdrop is the scene for the unfolding of a family’s pioneer heritage and enduring faith.
Clara is a tribute to a woman and a mother who grew up with the support and guidance of family and God, and it invites us all to reflect on a nostalgic time where faith and values could help us face our challenges and obstacles with hope.
About the Author
Lois Hettinger is a wife and mother, and she and her husband have five children. Working as a stay-at-home mom until her children were grown up, Lois went on to a career in the field of social work before discovering her love of writing. While serving as a pastor’s wife to her husband, she took college courses in writing, and upon her mother’s passing, she heard a voice saying, “Lois, write your mother’s story—you know it so well.” Clara is her tribute to her late mother.