Premature and Orphaned -- Testimony by Melony Teague

Author Melony Teague

“You killed my daughter!” It was shock that caused my grandmother to scream this from the front seat of the old Studebaker. This was directed at the driver behind the wheel of the car which had collided with the car I was in. Well, let me specify, I was safely encased in my mother’s womb, but I was not due to make an appearance for another three months. My mother sat in the back seat of my grandfather’s car, (I don’t think they even had seat belts at the back in those days) and due to the collision I had a rough start to life. Within days, three months too early, I arrived on the scene, all of two pounds and small enough to fit in a shoe box.

I was told that I stopped breathing a few times before my mother even got to hold me, full of tubes and half blue. Were it not for the vigilance of the doctors and nurses, and the prayers of my family, I might not be the 5 ft. 5 inch woman I am today, with size ten feet!

Maybe it was a rough start, but I will forever be grateful that I arrived three months early. That meant I got to be with my mother three months longer than I otherwise would have. My auburn haired, five foot tall mother, Anne was taken too soon due to a car wreck when I was six months old. 

I lived with my heartbroken six foot tall father, Melville until he too died due to a collision. (South African roads are notorious for being deadly) I ended up being half way between, sharing their names and their character traits.

I came to live with my grandmother who was aged fifty at the time.  I called her ‘mother’ for the rest of my life. She was a women of faith, a survivor and even though she was widowed when I was seven years old and left to raise me on her own, there was no doubt in my mind she overcame all of life’s tragedies and challenges because of her faith. She taught me what real, sacrificial and unconditional love looked like in action. She is the lady who taught me how to pray as a child, through bedtime prayers and grace before meals. She’d always tell me to pray about things when I was worried about something.

Growing up, I have no doubt that it was prayer kept me out of trouble. Neither of my two grandmothers were perfect, no one is, but they were women with a tremendous love for God. Their unwavering faith taught me how to overcome whatever I may face by putting my own faith in my Saviour, Jesus. To me there is nothing more powerful than a grandmother’s prayers and I was blessed with two faith-filled grandmothers. They never stopped praying for me. These ladies taught me that prayer makes a difference. Not only in the situation I am facing or praying for, but in my own heart.

Author Bio:

Melony Teague was born in South Africa and immigrated to Canada in 1999. She is a freelance writer who believes everyone has a story to tell, with each story being unique and sometimes wilder than fiction. Melony loves to uncover the good news in society and writes human interest and community pieces. She is an editorial contributor for newspapers and magazines in the Greater Toronto Area, and has contributed numerous articles for the local media over the years. Her guest columns address issues pertaining to life and health, and she loves to inspire and motivate others through her written words. Melony is also a ghostwriter who has worked with diverse subject matter. Melony also handles communications and PR for two non-profit mission organizations in Canada. Her book, As the Ink Flows, Devotions to Inspire Christian Writers & Speakers released April 1, 2016, was written in collaboration with four local authors. Melony lives in Toronto with her husband and their two children.

LINKS TO BOOK:

Asthe Ink Flows: Devotions to Inspire Christian Writers & Speakers

Authors: Glenda Dekkema, Melony Teague, Carol Ford, Claudia Loopstra and Marguerite Cummings.

Amazon.com:

http://amzn.to/1Vxoiij

Thanks for visiting with us, Melony, and sharing your powerful testimony of overcoming!!!