by Rev. Sheila Hamil
“Put down the hoover, go into the bedroom and pray!”
This time the words seemed more emphatic, more urgent
I seemed to sense that if I ignored this command a third time, I would not hear this voice again. So, with feelings of both curiosity and annoyance, I marched into the bedroom, thinking ‘What harm will one little prayer do, anyway?’
My book ‘Called’ documents my entire life from being a child growing up in the North East of England with the ever-present threads of family, friendship, and faith in God, all woven in.
Sheila shares how in the very ordinary things of life, and death, relationship and work, there is treasure to be found, and the hand of God at work. It is a masterpiece of memories.
(Revd Rachel Hudson: Vicar of Scremerston, Spittal & Tweedmouth at Diocese of Newcastle, Church of England)
I don’t think I’ve read an autobiography that weaves so many threads (including, but by no means limited to: spirituality, family, history, current affairs, politics both national and international as well as ecclesiastical!) into one lovely tapestry.
(Tim Binder, co-author of Walking with the Wise)
Author’s Note:
What better time to reminisce and jot down memoirs than when you have time on your hands, say during a period of ‘lockdown’. A familiar word, even more common these days, has been bequeathed to our world since the month of March 2020.
Off and on, since then, the entire human race has been following rules concerning our need to isolate in order to prevent the spread of the virus Covid-19. Which has led to a cornucopia of unfamiliar words such as ‘social distancing’, ‘bubbles’, ‘pandemic’, ‘zoom bombing’, ‘key workers’, and ‘covidiot’. It’s all been quite puzzling and scary for us, and lonely and strange. We grieved and fretted, as death rates and hospital admission statistics rose alarmingly.
And so, we inhabited a ‘brave new world’ in our everyday lives, with very little human contact or touch, outside of the family circle. We so missed our full-on tight hugs. Initially, to use my time wisely and take my mind off ‘the bug’, I began making videos of all my songs; some of my friend’s compositions among them. My second project was this — a book of memoirs, and how I came to faith in God.
My book entitled ‘CALLED’ has just become available on Amazon Kindle Edition and paperback. In CALLED you will find family, friendship, romance, history and faith in God, all woven together.
Kindle is the better buy, as photos here are in colour and it contains links to all of my songs and a few dramas, whereas photos in the book are in black and white; links referenced here can only be obtained through my website: www.sheilahamil.co.uk