Shannon Alford - 8 Is Enough: A True Story of Life, Death, Faith, Hope

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I WOULD LIKE TO thank many people who loved and supported me through this project.

Sion, you are a wonderful husband, father, and best friend. You are an absolute gift from God. I thank Him every day for you and the pillar of strength you are to this family.

Mom, you have always been there for me, and Im the mother I am today because of you.

Jerry, thank you for taking care of Mom and treating her like a queen.

Dad, you have blessed me by loving these children and encouraging all of us to work hard and be diligent.

Cindy, thank you for allowing Dad to visit us. It means so much to me.

Mimi Robson, you are the most beautiful grandmother inside and out. We love and appreciate you!

Thank you, Stacie Jennings (Vision Communications), for forming a timeline that allowed me to share my heart and the message of this story.

Thank you, Pastor Robert, Debbie, and Gateway Church, for loving and blessing us as a family.

Thank you, 8 Is Enough group. You are wonderful little people, and I love you very much.

Contents

by Pastors Robert and Debbie Morris

8 IS ENOUGH by Shannon Alford
Published by Creation House
A Charisma Media Company
600 Rinehart Road
Lake Mary, Florida 32746
www.charismamedia.com

This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwisewithout prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are from the Amplified Bible. Old Testament copyright 1965, 1987 by the Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified New Testament copyright 1954, 1958, 1987 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked NAS are from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from the New King James Version of the Bible. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc., publishers. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked THE MESSAGE are from The Message: The Bible in Contemporary English, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Design Director: Bill Johnson
Cover design by Terry Clifton

Copyright 2012 by Shannon Alford
All rights reserved.

Visit the authors website: www.247worshipministries.com

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012948816
International Standard Book Number: 978-1-62136-322-4
E-book International Standard Book Number: 978-1-62136-323-1

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication.

First edition

12 13 14 15 16 987654321
Printed in the United States of America

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my brother, Michael,and my sister-in-law, Stacey, who loved theirsix children and each other. Although theywent to be with the Lord earlier than expected,they are now reunited with their son, Daniel,who died from a heart defect. I know they areglad to see him and will be equally excited tohave all their children together again someday.We love and miss you both!

Shannon Alford

I T WAS A typical Thursday morning in May as my two boys, Si and Austin, stumbled out of bed, quickly dressed for school, and ran downstairs to fight over who would eat the last of the toasted waffles. Just as I yelled up the staircase for my daughter, Brooke, to come down and eat, the phone rang. It was only a few minutes after seven. Who could be calling this early inthe morning?

I answered the phone and heard the anguished sound of my mom crying on the other end. I couldnt understand a word she was saying. I stepped out of the kitchen and went into my bedroom where I could calm her without alarming the children.

Mom, take a deep breath and start over, I whispered.

Oh, Shannon, she sobbed, Stacey had a heart attack in the middle of the night and passed away.

Immediately I fell to the floor and wept. I couldnt believe what I had just heard. All I could think about was the commitment my husband and I had made to my brother three years earlier, just before hed died of cancer. We had promised that if anything ever happened to his wife, Stacey, we would take all five of their children.

I had three children of my own, so in my thinking, three plus five equaled 8 Is Enough.

How could this be happening, and what was I going to do?

Why is it that life is full of situations and circumstances that cause us to stop and ask for clear direction? God never intended for us to be separated from Him. In fact, its when we are placed in difficult situations and our backs are against the wall that we realize we need a power higher than ours to make the right decisions in life. Thats when we all want a God larger, stronger, and wiser than ourselves.

My husband, Sion, was in our home office, packing his briefcase for the one-hour drive to work when I told him about the call Id just received from my mother.

OK, Shannon, he said as he wrapped his arms around me. The first thing we need to do is tell the children. Then Ill call the office and let them know what happened while you call the kids schools and get someone to take your place in the carpool this morning. Well leave as soon as we get everything into the car.

Si, Brooke, and Austin, ages fourteen, thirteen, and ten respectively, were as stunned as I was at the news that their Aunt Stacey had died. After all, it had only been three years since theyd lost their Uncle Michael. Despite their shock and sadness, they were excited that they would soon get to be with their cousins, who ranged in age from four to fifteen.

Our family of five had converged several times each year in my hometown of Panama City, Florida, where both of my parents and my brothers family still lived. The eight cousins loved spending endless hours at the beach together, swimming in the beautiful Gulf waters, collecting shells, and building sand castles. My three children had no idea that their aunts death meant we would all come together as one family.

The next hour was a whirlwind of activity at the Alford house as we gathered the clothing wed need for the next week and packed our bags. I also gathered plenty of bottled water and snacks for the thirteen-hour drive from our home in Mansfield, Texas, to Panama City, Florida.

Once we pulled onto I-20 heading for Louisiana, my mind turned to the seemingly insurmountable list of things that needed to be taken care of and the decisions that had to be made. I knew my mom and dad would likely assist Staceys mother with funeral arrangements. But how were the children going to deal with the events of the coming days?