Courage, Serenity and Wisdom

Courage, Serenity and Wisdom

Colleen Test

Copyright © 2022 Colleen Test

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2022

ISBN 978-1-64701-549-7 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-64701-547-3 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

I am dedicating this book to my family and friends

and to my Lord and savior Jesus Christ; I was given a second chance in life.

I thank God, my Father, and family for supporting me through it all.

Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father's home.

—John 14:1

Life is hard, and it is hard to trust in something you cannot see. Life is also like a road; it curves. It's bumpy. You go up, down, and straight, and it has turns. You can go left, right, straight, or back. We have a choice, and no one is perfect. We all make mistakes, and we all fall and get back up. I had a hard time getting up, and I had a very hard time looking at myself in a marrow. I didn't like what I saw. Since I have Jesus in my life, I can look at myself in the marrow now and I am proud of who I became. I am God's daughter, and I am loved. He didn't leave me. I had forsaken Him. I left Him. I was mad and upset and didn't understand and was very scared. I have God in my life now, and I am not scared anymore.

I am starting this story off to tell you were my dad and mom came from. God created us all different. If we were all the same, we would be robots and think like a robot, but God gave us free will and we are free to think for ourselves. We all were created by God, and we live for Him, to love Him and to love our neighbors as He loves us. Jesus died for our sins, and on the third day, He rose from the dead. We also forgot what our ancestors fought for. I also forgot and lost my way, but now I am found through Jesus. And I have a new life through Him.

My Dad

My Mom

They Met

World War II

After the War

1968–1970s

The Move to Tucson

1980s

High School

Moving Back to Virginia

The Move Back to Tucson

Mom Was Getting Worse

My Marriage

My Husband Joined the Navy

Our Baby Was Born

Move to California

Moved Back to Tucson

Moved Back California

Moved Back to Tucson

Moved Back to California

Baby Girl

Moved to Washington State

Death of a Brother

Moved Back to Tucson

The Move Back to Tucson

The Move to Oklahoma

The Move Back to Arizona/Alabama

Moved Back to Virginia

Visited Tucson

I Had My Daughter Back

Moved to Texas/Oklahoma

Moved to Arizona

Moved to Nebraska

About the Author

Colleen Test is fifty-two years old; in this story, she is called a child of God. Colleen was raised with two wonderful parents and five brothers and one sister. Colleen has two children over the age of eighteen and two children under the age of twelve. Colleen even has two grandchildren and a wonderful fiancé who God blessed her with.

This is about her life story and how God and Jesus work in her life and my family. Colleen would like to tell her story and help others and to let them know that there is hope. No better what, God is watching over you. You can't see him, but you can't see the air either, or can you? Colleen can't explain it, but he is there, and she thanks God for her family and friends and giving her a second chance in life. Colleen prays for the ones that are lost, confused, and hurting. Thank you, God and Jesus.

I am dedicating this book to my family and friends

and to my Lord and savior Jesus Christ; I was given a second chance in life.

I thank God, my Father, and family for supporting me through it all.

Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father's home.

—John 14:1

Life is hard, and it is hard to trust in something you cannot see. Life is also like a road; it curves. It's bumpy. You go up, down, and straight, and it has turns. You can go left, right, straight, or back. We have a choice, and no one is perfect. We all make mistakes, and we all fall and get back up. I had a hard time getting up, and I had a very hard time looking at myself in a marrow. I didn't like what I saw. Since I have Jesus in my life, I can look at myself in the marrow now and I am proud of who I became. I am God's daughter, and I am loved. He didn't leave me. I had forsaken Him. I left Him. I was mad and upset and didn't understand and was very scared. I have God in my life now, and I am not scared anymore.

I am starting this story off to tell you were my dad and mom came from. God created us all different. If we were all the same, we would be robots and think like a robot, but God gave us free will and we are free to think for ourselves. We all were created by God, and we live for Him, to love Him and to love our neighbors as He loves us. Jesus died for our sins, and on the third day, He rose from the dead. We also forgot what our ancestors fought for. I also forgot and lost my way, but now I am found through Jesus. And I have a new life through Him.

My Dad

Augustine, my dad, was born in 1919 during the Great Depression. His parents came over in the early 1900s from Italy. His mom was from Naples, and his dad was from Rome, Italy. They met in a small town called Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Augustin, my dad, was the second youngest child out of eight kids. Augustin lost his mom at age eight. Dad had to quit school and started working as a caddy at eight years old. My grandfather, Augustin's dad was a cool miner in Pennsylvania and the first person in the area to put an indoor bathroom with running water. I was told by my dad that my grandfather would only speak English, and my grandmother had a hard time with English. She spoke Italian, but my grandfather would say we were Americans now and that we needed to speak English only. Augustin's dad even changed his last name by dropping the A on our last name because we were Americans, not Italians. We do not live in Italy anymore.

My dad, Augustine, started working as a caddy at age eight at a golf course to help his family. At age thirteen, Augustine joined the CCC camp, and not the one most people are familiar with, this one was called the Civilian Conservation Corps. President Roosevelt started it up during the Great Depression. This program was for adding parks and landscape all over the United States. At age seventeen in 1937, Augustin joined the Navy. Frank retired from the Navy in 1967. He served in War World II, Korea, and part of Vietnam.

My Mom

Ruth, my mom, was born in West Virginia in 1929. Her dad was a coal miner as well and a moonshiner. Ruth's dad would make and sell his moonshine up in the hills of West Virginia. They didn't have much money, but what they did have were love and kindness. They were very religious. They went to church every Sunday. Mom was brought up as a Presbyterian. Her mom was a homemaker, and there were six kids that they had. And Ruth was the fourth oldest. There were four boys and two girls. It was a hard life they lived. They had a run-down house with newspapers on the walls for installation, and no bathrooms in the house, they had to use the outhouse if they need to go to the bathroom. They lived in a holler in a county called Clay County, about four miles from town. The house was way on top of a mountain, and it was difficult to travel with a car. They had all kinds of farm animals outside and even in the house.

They Met

If you are wondering how Augustine and Ruth even met, Augustine was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, and Ruth in West Virginia. They were two hundred miles away from each other. Well, it started back when Augustine's ship that he was on was in dock to get repairs done on it in 1943. Augustine and a friend were on leave. They did not know where to go or what to do. They both were in their shop on the ship, and there was a map on the board. And they both had a couple of darts in a drawer that they pulled out, so they decided to throw the darts at the map and see where it landed. They both threw the darts at the same time, and for some reason, it landed on West Virginia.

They rented a car for the day and drove up to West Virginia. They stopped at a restaurant in a small town. There were two young women sitting down at a booth behind them. Augustine got up from where he was sitting and asked if he and his friend could join them at the table. He told them, "My name is Augustine, and my friend over there is Johnny. And we would like to join both of you if that is okay?"

Ruth spoke up and said, Yes, that would be fine.

Mind you, both Augustine and Johnny had their Navy uniforms on, and when Ruth looked into Augustine's deep brown eyes and his dark black curly hair, she fell in love. And when Augustine looked into Ruth's dark blue eyes and her long dark black hair, he fell in love as well.

Ruth said to Augustine, This is my sister, Virginia, and then Johnny came over to the table a couple minutes later. And all four of them were eating, drinking, and having fun, laughing. It was getting late, and Augustine asked, If you do not mind, can I drive you both back to your house?

Ruth replied, No, you can walk us back home if you want to, so both men walked four miles to take Ruth and Virginia back home. Ruth introduced Augustine to her parents, and Augustine asked Ruth's parents, Would it be okay to exchange letters?

And they both said, That would be fine.

Both men walked back to their car. Augustine told Johnny that he would marry Ruth someday.

Every weekend when Augustine had off, he would drive to West Virginia to see Ruth and her family. Augustine even helped build Ruth's parents' house that would have a bathroom inside, instead of using an outhouse. He provided all the materials needed to build a three-bedroom and one-bathroom house. About four months of going back and forth to West Virginia, Augustine finally asked Ruth's parents, Would you mind if I marry your daughter?

Ruth's dad said, Yes, just do not hurt my little girl.

Augustine said, I would never do that. In May 1943 they got married. Then Augustine had orders to go to