An Amazing Journey
- Vernita "Neat" Simmons
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 11 hours ago
She was a young girl listening to her Big Mama dictate letters to her cousin. Her grandmother spoke softly, yet her message was profound. Her words were as clear as crystal with a passion that showed her love and concern for humanity. Still, Vernita had no inkling this would be the catalyst to transform her life in ways beyond her imagination.
However, Vernita’s grandmother's words sparked a fire within her. And at the tender age of nine, Vernita penned her inaugural play, a work spanning 100 pages. During her formative years in school, her favorite subjects were reading and English. She recalls often declaring to her classmates, "I'm going to write a book, one day."
Before that day would come, the enemy tried to thwart God's plan for her life before it even started. Still, Vernita knew He had a plan and purpose for her beyond her wildest dreams. (Jeremiah 29:11, AMP). And as Vernita often says, our words have the power to create. (Proverbs 18:21). One day, as she sat quietly in the study hall, a fellow student mentioned she had written a book. It was a sincere compliment she never expected. However, another girl started that Vernita hadn't written it because she had read it the night before in a magazine. Her words were harsh and filled with envy. Vernita knew they were intended to attack her self-worth.
Because of her Big Mama, Vernita saw herself through God’s eyes. So, instead of retaliating and defending herself, she took it as a compliment, and she thought to herself, "It must have been pretty good to have been written in a magazine." But would God take what that girl meant for evil and turn it into something magnificent? Meanwhile, Vernita continued to use words to touch others.
It would be years later that those unkind words that the student spoke would take effect. Dear One, the amazing journey of Vernita began when she lost her job on September 12, 2012, due to abuse of power. Those vicious actions resulted in a period of unemployment that lasted almost four years, during which Vernita experienced a persistent lack of income for nearly three years. However, her daughter and others invited her to join social media. Though reluctant, she did. However, it was at LinkedIn that the late Pastor Gloria Green sent her an invitation, but would God use it to fulfil His plan and purpose for her life? Nevertheless, Vernita began commenting on posts, and her words ministered to many others.
Over time, she began writing on LinkedIn Pulse, and Lisa C. encouraged her to take her heartwarming devotionals and create a book. She gave her the title: Capturing the Spirit of God’s Words with Vernita. Even Community Christian Academy and Faith Filled Magazine embraced her as a contributor in their companies. While at Faith Filled Family magazine, she contributed as a Feature Writer and later served as their Interview Manager. On August 10, 2015, she wrote her first book.
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