“I always wanted to be a teacher, and I did spend 22 years in the classroom before my spinal cord injury and other health issues sidelined me,” Marisa said. “But I also wanted to write. Oh, to be able to write a book—everyone will remember my name if I write a book. That was as a child. Of course, as an adult, I think ‘Lord, what do you have for me? And how can I use this gift of encouragement that I have and this gift of wanting to reach out to people?’ That’s what became more important than just having a name out there.”

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