Today we’d like to introduce you to Carol Pierce-Davis.
Hi Carol, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
How I got to Austin . . .
Growing up in a military family, we lived in far-flung places, from Harlingen, Texas in the Valley; to Anchorage, Alaska next door to Russia during the height of the Cold War; to Guam, a tiny island in the western Pacific Ocean, 2500 miles from Hawaii. Even so, home was always New Braunfels. It was where my mother was born and raised; and where she gave birth to all four of her children. And of course, we were active members of the Lutheran Church! When it was time to consider college, there was no question. I was going to Concordia Austin, Texas.
Even then, I had an interest in psychology. In my sophomore year at Concordia (where psychology was not offered) I trekked over to the University of Texas and signed up for a class. That sealed it! I completed my undergraduate work at Southwest Texas State University. In 1975, I graduated with a master’s degree and in 1979, a doctorate in Psychology at East Texas A &M University – Commerce. Upon graduation, I moved to Denison where I served as director of a United Way Counseling center, before establishing private practice in nearby Sherman.
It was a late-night drive from New Braunfels back to Denison. We had been in New Braunfels for the birth of our newest family member, baby Chelsea. The event had turned tense when my sister-in-law was wheeled into the emergency room for an emergency C-Section. Happily, all ended well and we were able to welcome the new baby into the family before heading north on IH35, back to Denison. In his inimitable fashion, Zach summed up his thoughts on the event, “Yeah, the only bad thing is that by the time we get back to New Braunfels, she will be a brat!” Out of the mouths of babes. He was right. It was time to go back to roots. Within weeks, the monthly psychology newsletter arrived in the mail. There it was! In the Wanted ads: a position available for a psychologist. In Austin!
We were on our way! That was 1991.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When I arrived in Austin, my top priority was to find a church. It was Palm Sunday, celebrated with a re-enactment of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. Typically, the excitement was saved for the early services. So when I arrived for the last service of the day, all was quiet except for a handful of children in the church yard, petting the donkey. I entered the now quiet sanctuary. By the end of the service, with a male tenor singing unaccompanied, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” I knew that I had found my church home, – even before finding a home for my son and me!
Ours was a fast-growing church, so fast that we needed more priests than we had. Getting new priests takes time so what do overworked church leaders do? They turn to the congregation for help. Within two weeks, a group of us had been picked and were meeting weekly for instruction to prepare us for our ministry.
Being the only psychologist in the group, I was assigned to teach Listening Skills, Hospital etiquette, and Ethics, especially confidentiality. Once trained, we were ready to go! We went to home-bound parishioners after church, with a bulletin from the service and a Communion Kit. We shared prayers, scripture, and the Lord’s Supper. It was a sweet service for the recipients and for us. And it grew! Soon we were serving people in hospitals, nursing homes, independent and assisted living facilities. It was wonderful. I had my own group of people at an assisted living facility in south Austin. They showed up every month, hungry for scripture! I began including not only scripture, but a message, also known as a meditation.
With time, the clergy was ready to take over this ministry with a group of new priests on the scene. And there I was, in the habit of creating these meditations and having nowhere to go with them. So, what do you do? I don’t know about you, but I started a blog and it is still out there. A Lifetime Journey with God.
The blog worked! It kept me writing. And then, it too came to an end when the Pandemic struck. Not in our lifetime had we known anything of that magnitude. The church stepped up, learning new skills in online recording of church services, not just on Sundays, but every day of the week. When asked to help, I was happy to do so. I put aside the Blog to write and record online Morning Prayer services instead.
When the Pandemic came to an end, and people returned to the church building to worship, the online services stopped. And like before, here I was with written/recorded messages in my Inbox. Which brings us to the question at hand. “Carol, tell us how you came to write your book, A Moment in time: Meditations on the Seasons of Faith.”
My retort would be, “It was an accident! Never did I intend to write a book. Writing a book is difficult and takes way too much time. And recall, I am a full-time self-employed psychologist! I already work eight to ten hours a day, at least!” Instead, I found myself with dozens of meditations already written! Of course, these written pieces were not polished, rather they were notes for spoken presentation. But no worries! This should be easy.
Wrong, folks! Do not be deceived! I am guessing it took close to two years and untold numbers of edits to get the finished product into production and available for sale. And I can still find typos! (Geez!)
Writing this book was not a smooth road, just as life is not a smooth road. Bumps along the way came in the form of managing a full-time practice through the pandemic; managing a family ranging from my 99-year-old mother who spent time under the watchful eye of Hospice, (She tricked them and is back home) to children of my own and their children –including a new grandchild, born less than a week before the hospital was shut down to all visitors.
And then add in the aftereffects of the Pandemic on our profession, both on clients and colleagues. Our close-knit group of therapists retreated to their homes, dependent on unfamiliar technology to provide clients with the help they needed. And we did that without the daily support team we had before isolation was imposed on us. No smooth road and yet we all survived, and in the meantime this book took on a life of its own. It helped that the meditations were statements that grew out of real life mistakes, losses, and errors. Through them all, the love of Christ persisted – in the book and in our lives. That message kept me on track.
Recently, I was asked in an interview, what do you hope to accomplish with your book? I skirted the question and instead explained, “Today, we live in a dark, dark moment in time. Every day we are bombarded with stories of inconceivable violence, senseless murders, and grievous tragedy; more darkness than we could ever have imagined. It is why we need a book like this: a book that offers light. It is the light of Christ. It is why, even in tears we can find love, laughter, and hope. It is why, even in weakness and fear, we can find the quiet strength and determination that Christ lived in his lifetime, and that can also live on in us.
That is my hope for the readers of A Moment in Time: Meditations on the Seasons of Faith
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
By profession, I am a Psychologist, providing mental health counseling for adults over the last forty five years. During that time, I have lectured (and preached) in church settings, universities, weddings, funerals, and more.
Recently I wrote the book, A Moment in Time: Meditations on the Seasons of Life.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
With God, everything/anything is possible!
Pricing:
- A Moment in Time . . . $21.99 Paperback
- A Moment in Time . . . $3.99 Kindle
- A Moment in Time . . . $41.99 Hardcover
Contact Info:
