Thy Perfect Gift: Prayers to Love God

This collection of 68 profound, powerful prayers and passionate words of Faith and Peace was written by a woman with a dark childhood and, as an adult, was afflicted with an illness that affected her balance. Nearly physically helpless and spiritually hopeless, Mary Ann Popovich researched every possible resource about God. This book is a result of the Faith and Love she gained from the devastating experience. Her heart, mind and Soul are evident in each of the writings. From the author: "As you read the prayers, I hope that you feel the connection to God. My best thought is to tell you to Love God first. Love God. As my life unfolded, I thought God was angry, very angry. This angry God was always in my thoughts. No matter what the challenge or situation, try to Love God. As my balance was devastated, amazingly, I was elevated spiritually. Through this destruction of my normal routine, I learned to Love God. I Love God - without a doubt."

About the Author :
My life was never about me. It was always about my mother. On my mother's 10th birthday, her mother hung herself in the basement. She and her half brother cut her down. That was the defining moment in my mother's life and in my life. I paid a high price for my grandmother's loss of faith and journey into darkness. By the age of two, I knew that no one was coming to save me. My mother had a small picture of Jesus Christ (God). By the age of three, I was hiding under the bed clinging to this picture of Jesus. I did not know about God, but I understood my mother's reaction to this picture. My mother received this photo when her stepmother died. So, I tried to make myself invisible. My mother would yank me out of bed in the middle of the night, when my father worked nights, to scream at me and to beat me. From early childhood to the beginning of this balance disorder, I thought God was angry, especially with me. I worked as a high school French and English teacher and very sensitive to the abused child. I loved teaching, my kids and I tried to make the classes meaningful and enjoyable. I believe that one person makes a difference. I am a graduate of the Gen. George S. Patton School of Tact and Charm. "No tact. No charm. I just get the job done. I love work. Just show me the work. I'll get the job done." In 1997, awakening to get up for work, I fell to the floor as I got out of bed. I was unable to stand, to walk, to sit, or to move without assistance. I discovered that reading and writing were difficult. I could not tolerate television, and no interest in food. My life as I knew it had ended. The doctor said that most people just go deaf in the ear affected by the virus. But once in a million times, it takes someone's balance. The balance disorder feels like I am on the front of a ship in sixty-foot waves and on a merry-go-round at the same time. It has been exquisite torture; I have endured for fifteen years. With the help of physical therapy, I have learned to control my movements enough. I wrote the prayers in three weeks in 1998. I wanted to honor the God that my thoughts and prayers had revealed. I try to pay attention to detail and do the right thing. I try to help people who need assistance. And I have learned to love God, rain or shine. I had hoped to be healed physically; that never happened. I am not a quitter; I just keep going. And I always hope that I will once again achieve perfect balance; something that everyone, but me, takes for granted.