Becoming an author grew from the sorrow and grief that James Meyer of Shawano experienced when his parents died within 18 months of each other.
His journey of writing and publishing “God Knew: Revelations of God’s Grace in Unexpected Ways” in 2015 brought him comfort from his sorrow and provided a way to offer solace, guidance and support to others who were also mourning the loss of loved ones.
A Harris Poll indicates that 36% of Americans don’t feel like celebrating the holidays due to grief or loss.
“Grief isn’t unique,” Meyer said. “But the way we grieve is. There is no right way or wrong way to grieve. This is my way, leaning on God, who’s always there.”
In the book, Meyer shows how to navigate grief through the holidays by sharing how he dealt with his grief.
Meyer, an only child, lived with his parents until they died.
“Because I took care of my parents, I never married,” Meyer said.
And then his life took another path. His grief healed to the point where he could look toward his future. He met Linda, and they married in November 2018.
A new book, “God Knew: Faithfulness Fulfilled,” written by both of them, was published in August. Their belief that God is present in extraordinary ways in their ordinary life, as an ordinary couple living in Shawano, is part of the message of this new book. The Meyers believe that the new book will help readers become closer to God and demonstrate his faithfulness in their lives.
“Our stories are surprisingly similar, as far as taking care of parents, not being married, being active in our churches,” James Meyer said.
He went on to explain his belief that their lives were parallel lines, and that God was the only one who could make parallel lines intersect.
Talking about how they met and how they moved on a path to write the sequel, Linda Meyer said, “After my mom passed, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I had a lot of grief, same as Jim. I was very close to my mom. My heart started to heal. I got involved in some ministries that were very important to me. I started online dating.
“Two weeks into it, Jim messaged me. We started dating, we got married in 2018 and I moved up here.
“I had a bad few months earlier this year, which prompted us to write the sequel.”
After the second book was published, the couple trademarked the phrase “God Knew” and have plans to spread its message through future sequels, incorporating stories from individuals in upcoming books.
Their website, www.godknew.org, reaches a wide audience. They are committed to passing on their hopeful messages through social media, an online store at their website, book signings, speaking events and podcasts.
The Meyers put together something they call the God Knew Comfort Box.
“It’s got both of our books, a calendar, mouse pad, a New Testament, coffee mug, Door County coffee, a bracelet and key chain,” James Meyer said. “For someone who has everything, they don’t have this.”
They offer the box for sale on their website.
Both of their books are also for sale on their website, amazon.com and Books-A-Million and soon will be available locally. They will have a local book signing at Beans and Books Coffee House in January.
Meyers share story of ‘Faithfulness Fulfilled’
