Kindle Edition Download to your Nook (eBook) Download from Apple iTunes (eBook) Ruth O'Neil Category:  Inspirational ISBN-10:  B00BUUPW5M Type: Fiction Pages: 2014 ISBN-13: 9780989896641 Price: $4.99 (eBook) Alone. An idea Shelly enjoys..or at least she used to. But now that she is truly alone, and after Jay forces his way into her life, she’s not so sure. Curiosity sends this introvert on a search for family. But then she finds more than she bargains for. After the death of her father, Shelly feels completely alone in the world. Being shy and working from home, she never felt the need to make friends or even talk to people, for that matter. Shelly may think like is over, and it is over as she’s known it. God has huge plans for her, but she must obey and take that first step out of her comfort zone.        Excerpt Belonging by Ruth O’Neil Chapter 1 Shelly was in denial. “It really didn’t happen,” she said talking to herself. “It didn’t happen,” she whispered. It was hard to tell if it was the bright sun or something else that made tears come to her eyes. She put on her sunglasses just in case the sun was the culprit. It was a beautiful, early September day. The sun was shining. The sky was bright blue as it always was after a cleansing rain. There was a hint of color in the leaves on the maple trees. Normally Shelly would have enjoyed the scenic drive home, but not today. Today was different. The three-hour drive gave Shelly a lot of time to think. She had traveled this road so many times in the last six years she had not lived with her dad. She paid little attention to where she was going. It was as if she was on auto-pilot. However, there wasn’t much to think about. It was official. No matter how much she tried to deny it. She was now completely alone in the world. She had always preferred being by herself and was definitely a loner by anyone’s standards, but this time was different. It hadn’t been her choice. A few days previous she had received that dreaded phone call. Her father had suddenly and unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack. Shelly wiped away a tear remembering the conversation. It wasn’t actually a conversation as she had hardly said a word as her father’s pastor gave her the news. Her father never had any heart problems before – at least none they had known about. He was never one to go to the doctor for no reason. Maybe if he had gone they would have known his cholesterol was through the roof and clogging his arteries. If her dad had known, he could have done something about it and then he might still be here with her. But there was no going back. There was only now and she was alone. Shelly had no other family. Her mother had passed away shortly after delivering Shelly and she had been the last living member of her family. Over the years Shelly and her father had researched her mother’s family tree so she could learn about them and feel a little closer to them. Those had been some fun times with her dad and what she had learned was interesting, but that didn’t change the fact that they were all deceased. There was no more family. Besides her father and Professor Yates, God had been the One she had always been closest to. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t see Him; His presence was always felt. Even from the time Shelly was a young girl she could talk to God like she could no one else. Unlike with other people, conversation with God was never a problem. The words always flowed from her heart and soul. It didn’t matter what troubles she was facing, God was always a loving friend who could comfort her. Her thoughts wandered back to her father. Guilt plagued her for not being there when he needed her most. After high school, Shelly attended a small college in a smaller town three hours away and had ended up staying there. It had actually been all her father’s idea for her to stay. Although it had taken a few years for Shelly to understand her father’s thinking, she understood now. It certainly wasn’t because Allen didn’t want his daughter to live at home. It was because he knew he was Shelly’s security blanket. Shelly was shy, painfully shy. Many times Shelly had fought this after graduation, thinking he had just wanted to get rid of her. She hardly had any friends while she was growing up and that hadn’t changed throughout her college years. Shelly never seemed to mind not having friends, but Allen had minded, and it broke his heart to see her alone. She had to admit it wasn’t because the other girls Shelly’s age didn’t try. They tried over and over to include her in their conversations, but if Shelly spoke at all, it was with one one-syllable word at a time and never looking them in the eye. Shelly would never go to any events the other girls planned. No birthday parties, no movies, no get togethers, no nothing. Allen had thought by forcing her away from him, it would lead her to other people, other girls her own age and with whom she had things in common. But his plan didn’t work. While Shelly was in college she often spoke highly of her mentor, Professor Yates. Her father had taken it upon himself to call Professor Yates and make a plan. Professor Yates understood what Allen’s concerns were. She agreed as well, that after graduation, Shelly should be on her own and not living with her father. Since then, Shelly and her dad spoke to each other on the phone about every other day and visited back and forth as often as possible. But now, as Shelly drove through her hometown, it didn’t seem as if it had been enough. For some reason, unrealistic as it might be, she had assumed her dad would always be there. She had the feeling now that she never should have stayed away. Automatically she drove down streets where she and her father would spend their early Saturday mornings browsing at yard sales, smiling at the memory of all the books he had bought her. He had been a literature teacher and reading was his life. He passed that love on to his daughter. He lived to read and would spend hours at a time reading to her. Rainy days were reading days in their household. Perhaps that was what gave Shelly the desire to be a writer. She knew at a young age that she wanted to be able to give someone pleasure using only the written word. She wasn’t a famous writer by any means, but she was able to pay her bills. She wrote for several magazines regularly and also had a few books published, under a pen name, of course, so people wouldn’t be able to find out who she really was. Writing allowed her to work from home and hardly leave. There were people outside her front door, and that scared her. Coming back to the present, Shelly hoped the pastor at her father’s church had taken care of all the arrangements as she had asked him to. This was the only time she had ever spoken to the man. She didn’t know him and he didn’t know her. She had used the excuse that it was easier for him since he was local, knew the people at the funeral home, and was used to dealing with such circumstances. The truth of the matter was that Shelly did not like to talk to strangers and avoided them at all costs. It was only another couple of miles before she arrived at the home where she had grown up. As she drove up she first noticed that the red shingles looked as good as ever on the old farmhouse. Even though they were old fashioned her father had left them because he said it gave the house a certain charm. Only now did Shelly realize that was true. Her dad certainly took pride in the way the house and yard looked. As a child, Shelly had dreamed of living here forever and now that it was hers, she didn’t know if she could stand being here alone for more than one day. Shelly pulled into the driveway and sat in the car for several minutes staring at the house. Taking a deep breath she turned off the car’s ignition and opened the door. With each step Shelly took toward the house she thought it would get easier, but it didn’t. Her feet were like lead, making each step difficult. She did not want to enter the house without her father being there. It felt weird. Trying the door knob she found it locked, which was also a little strange. Her father never locked the door. Living out in the country and knowing all the neighbors there was never any reason to lock it. Maybe the pastor had done it. He had probably been there to pick out some clothes for the funeral. The lock stuck a little bit, but Shelly managed to get in without too much difficulty. The house felt as cool and as empty as Shelly’s heart. Sighing she set her bags down and then called Professor Yates to let her know she had arrived safely. Professor Yates was a petite but energetic lady, who was assigned as Shelly’s mentor her freshman year of college to give her guidance about the courses she needed to take to complete her degree. Shelly had latched onto her right from the start. Throughout her years at college, and even beyond, Professor Yates had been an encouragement, a familiar face when things were scary, and a mentor in life as well as in her writing career. Professor Yates and her husband never had children of their own; however there were several college students they adopted throughout the years. Where most had moved on to bigger and better things, keeping in touch once in a while, Shelly became a permanent part of their lives long past her college days. Shelly had often looked to Professor Yates as a mother figure, taking the place of the mother Shelly never knew. When Professor Yates answered on the other end, Shelly said, “Hey. I’m here.” “Are you doing okay?” “Yeah.” “You don’t sound too convincing.” “It just feels strange. I can’t believe he’s really gone. I keep thinking he’s just in another room and that he’ll come out any second.” “I know it’s hard. Can I do anything for you?” Professor Yates asked. “No.” Shelly shook her head even though she knew Professor Yates couldn’t see the gesture. “We’ll be praying for you.” “Thanks.” “Get some rest then. Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite!” “I’ll try.” Even Professor Yates’ cliché attempt at humor couldn’t make Shelly smile. Shelly unpacked the few things she had brought with her. She hung up her black dress brushing it with her hand to make sure it was wrinkle free for the next day’s funeral. Unless her dad had suddenly changed his habits, there would be no iron found in the house. Shelly smiled as she thought of how her dad would throw their clothes in the dryer for a few minutes to get as many wrinkles out as he could without actually having to go and buy an iron. Shelly had worn many wrinkled dresses as a child due to the lack of one small appliance. Shelly laid down that night not expecting to sleep at all, but exhaustion, both physical and emotional, took over. The next sound she heard was loud knocking on the front door. “Who in the world can that be?” she said to herself as she rummaged through her closet for her robe. As soon as she opened the door, Shelly could not believe who she saw. “Hi, Shelly.” “Professor Yates! What are you doing here?” Shelly asked. “I couldn’t sleep all night. I hated the thought of you being alone at the funeral today, so I brought some comfort.” Shelly just stared at her. Professor Yates was definitely one of those eclectic professors. She was as typical as they came. She was the absent minded professor so often portrayed in books and movies. She often spoke using clichés, which Shelly thought was strange since Professor Yates taught in her classes to never use clichés in writing. Professor Yates also had a habit of dressing in rather outlandish clothes. Today was no exception. She stood there wearing a black dress with multi-colored polka dots, large multi-colored polka dots. A black, plastic looking coat and matching hat finished off the look. “Can we come in? I know it’s early since we’re awake with the chickens and we obviously woke you, but it’s a little chilly out here to just be shooting the breeze.” “Oh.” Shelly put her hand to her head, slapping herself awake. “Please. I’m sorry.” Shelly stepped back to allow the Professor and her husband to enter. “Are you doing okay?” Mr. Yates asked. “Yes. Thank you, Mr. Yates.” Looking back to her old professor she said, “I cried some last night and I do feel like that’s relieved me a little bit. The hardest part is coming back here. There are a lot of memories within these walls.” “Don’t shut out those memories. They are all you have left of him and he would never want you to completely forget. Besides, you never know, given time, there might be a good story here,” Professor Yates suggested. “I probably won’t be able to write anything for a while, Professor.” Shelly shook her head. “My heart just isn’t in it right now.” “I wouldn’t stop all together. Maybe put off any serious writing for a week or two, or even longer if necessary. Take some time to write down your feelings. Not another book you want to share with the world, but write them down just to get them out of your system.” Taking a deep breath Shelly responded, “Maybe I will.” Changing the subject she said, “I’m not really a big coffee drinker, but my dad was, so there must be some around here somewhere. I haven’t had time to get any groceries yet, but can I fix you something? Have you had breakfast?” “Coffee sounds good!” Mr. Yates said. “And so does breakfast,” Professor Yates agreed. “But I’ll snoop around and make myself at home while you go shower and get ready to face this day.” She said this while pushing Shelly away. Shelly conceded as she really didn’t have the mindset to function yet; and she wasn’t sure when that mindset would return. She took an extra long time letting the hot water beat on her shoulders, relieving some of the stress at least for the moment. The water running down her face allowed the tears to flow unseen, even though no one could see them anyway. When she finally stepped out of the bathroom she realized that the hot shower felt as good as the coffee smelled. Too bad I can’t get past the taste, Shelly thought to herself as she dried her hair. Within thirty minutes Shelly was sitting at the table with a plate of bacon and eggs sitting in front of her. “I do appreciate you two coming today, but you really didn’t have to. I’ll be okay.” Shelly thanked the Yates. Mr. Yates put his hand on Shelly’s. “We’re your family now.” Shelly fought back the tears again. She put her head down in response. “We may not be related by blood, but you’re still a part of our family, and we love you.” Professor Yates agreed with her husband. Picking up her napkin, and dabbing at her eyes Shelly said, “I guess today isn’t the best day for eye makeup.” “The funeral’s at eleven, right?” Mr. Yates asked looking at his watch. Shelly nodded. “I’ll drive,” he said. Shelly didn’t argue. After she and Professor Yates cleaned up the kitchen, they put on their coats and headed to the church. There was a new pastor at the church where Shelly used to go with her dad. She hardly knew him, except for their conversation on phone the other day about funeral arrangements. Shelly was glad the pastor’s wife led her directly to the pastor’s quiet office where she could wait for the funeral to begin. There was no desire to interact with other people especially people she didn’t know. Professor Yates waited quietly with Shelly. Even she felt the need for silence, which was as unusual for her as it was normal for Shelly. Shelly didn’t look at anyone as she walked down the aisle. Looking at the floor, she depended on Professor Yates to lead her to a spot reserved for her on the front pew. She tried not to look at the casket at the front of the church. Seeing her father’s lifeless body lying there was not an image of her dad she wanted to remember. She wanted to remember him as vibrant and full of life, usually with a book in his hand. During the reading of Psalm 23, Shelly was fine. It had been used so often at times of death that it almost seemed generic to her. However, when the pastor began reading 2 Timothy, the tears flowed again. That Scripture had been her father’s favorite. The minister’s voice echoed in the still, cold, air. “‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me a crown of righteousness.’” Shelly didn’t even hear the pastor read Philippians 1:21. “‘For me to live is Christ, but to die is gain.’” She had to tune everything out. Finally the service was over and everyone moved to the cemetery on the church property. During the burial service Shelly found her mind wandering. Most people were focused on the pastor as he said a few more words about her dad. Shelly took the opportunity to look toward the faces of the people there without having to make eye contact. With her hair hanging in front of her face people probably didn’t even know they were being watched. Her father always cut her hair with bangs when she was a little girl. They were always cut crooked. As soon as Shelly was old enough to care and tell her dad, she was allowed to grow those crooked bangs out so they were even with the rest of her hair. But now she liked the swoop bangs that allowed her semi-privacy in public when she found it convenient. All of a sudden she stopped and stared. A face in the crowd stuck out to her. Through the safety of her hair she looked again. It was a familiar face. She gasped when she realized the face was strikingly similar to her dad’s. Professor Yates mistakenly took Shelly’s reaction to mean she was cold, so she put her arm around the shivering young woman. Shelly, hardly noticing Professor Yates’ touch, kept staring at the man. Although eye contact was not a habit for her with strangers, she knew if he would look her in the eye she would be able to tell if it was her father or not. However, he kept his head bowed and never looked in Shelly’s direction. Then she began to think. What if her father was still alive? Was this some cruel joke? She looked to her feet, shaking her head. Why would he do that to her? When Shelly looked up in the man’s direction again, he was gone. She glanced around the cemetery, but he was nowhere to be seen. Shelly let her breath out not realizing she had even been holding it. She gave her head a little shake. Maybe she was just seeing things. Her emotions were raw and her mind could be playing tricks on her. Professor Yates gave Shelly’s shoulders a little squeeze. Shelly smiled at her and Professor Yates smiled back. After the burial service was over people came to hug Shelly or simply shake her hand to offer their condolences. Some of them Shelly recognized, but not all. She figured the ones she didn’t recognize were newer members of the church. She was busy looking for her father’s face again among the crowd when a young man came to stand in front of her. “Your father was a great man. I know I’ll miss him.” “Thank you.” Professor Yates answered for Shelly. Shelly was so grateful they had come. Professor Yates had pretty much done all the talking for her. Finally, it was over. All Shelly wanted to do was go back to her dad’s where it was quiet and she could be alone. When they were back at the house Professor Yates asked Shelly, “So, what now?” Shelly shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know.” Then a minute later she added, “I guess I need to get the house ready to sell.” “Why?” Professor Yates asked. “Wouldn’t you like to live in the home where you were raised?” “I don’t know. I’m comfortable in my apartment.” Professor Yates thought for a moment before she responded. “Sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone, you know.” That concept was completely foreign to Shelly. “Why?” “Maybe God has plans for you here. Not to mention, it would be better for you financially. Here I’m assuming you have a home that’s completely paid for. Wouldn’t it be nice not to have to pay rent anymore?” Shelly was a little bit offended. “I do just fine financially!” “I didn’t mean to imply you weren’t. I just don’t want to see you make any rash decisions without consulting God first,” Professor Yates said in a gentle voice. Shelly knew Professor Yates was right. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m a little edgy.” Professor Yates patted Shelly on the hand. “You have every right to be.” “I probably should take some time to clean out the house. It looks like there are some things that need to be fixed up,” Shelly commented. “Go ahead and fix it up, but take your time. You don’t want to regret rash decisions later.” At that moment, Mr. Yates came back in the house. “Everything is loaded,” he said. Professor Yates stood up from the table. “Well, we better be hitting the trail then.” “Thanks for coming today,” Shelly said and gave Professor Yates a hug. “You’re very welcome. We couldn’t let you face this by yourself.” “You call us if you need anything.” Mr. Yates said as he gave her a huge hug. “I will,” Shelly promised. Shelly walked them out to their car and waved as they drove away. Slowly, Shelly walked back to the house reverting to a nervous habit she had. She would examine the ends of her dark, curly hair looking for split ends. She would then pull both sides of the split until one length came off. This habit sometimes made her hair look frizzy if she did it too often. Shelly knew that no matter how many hairs she split she would still eventually have to go back into the house, even though she didn’t really want to. Sighing she made the trek to the front door. Inside the house, she leaned up against the door once she had closed it. She did not like the feeling she was having, as if the door she was closing was more than just a physical door. With the Yates gone she was again alone. Completely and utterly alone.

Breaking Down Strongholds
All of us struggle from time to time with certain strongholds in our lives. "Belonging" is a moving story about a young woman, Shelly, who had a very distinct stronghold in her life. However, God used her father's devotional book, prayers of those few who knew and loved her, and circumstances to release the grip of her stronghold.

Written in a very easy to read style, Shelly's character is developed over time--from a shy, withdrawn, unsociable young lady blossoming into a spiritually growing woman who enjoys sharing her gifts with others. Stepping out of the comfort zone to move forward in Faith is hard for all of us. Shelly shows how this can be done in small steps while being obedient to God. Even though the book was written in an easy to read style, there are many lessons we can learn from "Belonging", including the blessings we can receive even while going through difficult circumstances. The story itself was simple and light, and lessons from Scripture were also used appropriately. This book was encouraging and uplifting.


Being set free
I enjoyed this story of Shelly who had been held captive most of her life by her shyness and being such an introvert. Through the tragedy of losing her father and other circumstances she was gradually able to come out of her shell. The story gives us all hope of overcoming problems in life if we are faithful to God and let Him help us. I liked how Shelly was able to still have the influence of her father through his devotional book to help her with all the decisions and choices she had to make. Everybody needs someone like another character, Professor Yates, in their life. A friend/mentor that they can confide in, be there for them and to help them over the bumps in life. "Belonging (What a Difference a Year Makes)" had twists and turns, like life, to make it an interesting read. I hope there is going to be a second book.

Simple and enjoyable
Love the simplicity of this story line and ease of reading. So many things spoke to me from the character Shelly... from finding her voice to stepping out of her comfort zone to that yearning to belong. Love how the author uses faith and scripture and applies it in an clear, non threatening form and in a way that is understandable and applicable to daily life. I enjoyed experiencing the growth of the character and seeing her come out of her shell!