Victoria Lovell, Vicky to her friends, never thought of herself as a writer. As a teacher and inspirational speaker, the spoken word appeared to be her calling… writing didn’t cross her mind. But her family — and God —  knew otherwise.

Lovell’s writing journey started at the request of her husband’s grandfather.

“I promised to write his life story,” Vicky said. “But I was really struggling with the genre.”

Looking for direction, she stumbled into children’s writing at a workshop when the instructor saw her gift and encouraged her.

“I thought, ‘I’ll write Grandad’s story from a children’s perspective!’ Then Charlie’s story came about, and I knew I was meant to write that first.”

Charlie is Vicky’s son. Now 7 years old and healthy, his story could have ended differently — Vicky almost lost him. But it was some special words that kept them going —  and inspired a sweet-treat of a book that reminds readers of all ages that we are never alone.

In and out of hospitals at an early age with ear, nose and throat troubles, the Lovell family didn’t think twice when then 4-year-old Charlie was scheduled for a routine tonsillectomy — even Charlie was calm.

When asked if he was afraid to have surgery, Charlie assured them “No, I won’t be alone.”

Of course not. Vicky would be with him, but that’s not what Charlie meant.

“I’ll have my guy in the sky, the creator of us all!” Charlie told them.

“We couldn’t believe it. Did he mean God?” said Vicky. “It was so special.”

The surgery went as planned, and Charlie was taken to recovery to be discharged. As Vicky was gathering his things. she noticed his face was turning colors.

“All the machines in the room started making noise, the nurses were frantic, and it wasn’t until one started to cry that I realized this was really serious,” said Vicky.

“They were pumping him with narcotics and nothing was working. I knew I was going to lose him.”

Amidst the unexpected turmoil, Vicky stayed calm. Eerily calm.

“I knew I had to give it up to God.” said Vicky.

“Charlie was peaceful and not afraid to go to Heaven, if he went, he would be with his Guy in the Sky. I asked the nurses to stop working on him so that I could give him one last kiss.”

As Vicky said goodbye to her son, a nurse touched her arm and asked her if they could try one last thing. Vicky agreed, and it worked.

“Charlie opened his eyes and stroked my cheek; that’s when I knew I had him back.
I found out later they only had a three minute window to save him.”

Although Charlie was out of the woods, his ordeal wasn’t over. He was hospitalized a few additional times over the following month and had several doctors’ appointments to determine the cause of his condition. It was discovered that Charlie’s emergency was a result of a smaller-than normal trachea. Irritation caused by a tonsillectomy is not normally a problem, but Charlie’s trachea was smaller than average, causing it to swell and close when the procedure was final.

“We needed to make the situation positive,” said Vicky. “My husband and I didn’t want our kids to be afraid of hospitals.”

That’s when Vicky wrote My Guy in the Sky, and by chance introduction, Vicky was connected with the Northville Publisher — Nelson Marketing and Publishing — who made her book a reality.

“The whole family was involved in the book. When I went to the publishers, the whole group came along with me. They told us they never had an entire family write a book before!” said Vicky.

The book follows Charlie’s story and through whimsical prose and beautiful illustrations, My Guy in the Sky shows us all that we are never alone. Through thoughtful prayer and a child-like faith, Charlie knew that God would be by his side no matter what, and thanks to the book, Vicky is able to share that message with others.

“Now I’m able to speak, teach and go into schools and share Jesus’ love. It’s really a dream come true — I didn’t even know it was my dream until it happened!” said Vicky. “There’s so much hope in Charlie’s story. It’s amazing when people come up to me and tell me their own story and how the book affected them. That’s really the most rewarding part of all of this.”

And Charlie? Well, he’s doing just fine. Although he is shy, he contributes to his mom’s calling to share God’s hope with others. When Vicky speaks at book signings and in schools, Charlie comes along too and occasionally even imparts a bit of wisdom.

“He comes up with these one-liners. His faith in God is just so extraordinary. Charlie has always been special in that regard,” said Vicky.

“I really think that God uses children as His messengers. I feel so lucky that we were chosen to share His message of hope.”

My Guy in the Sky can be purchased on Vicky’s Web site: VictoriaLovell.com or on Amazon.com.

Carly Parker is the Communications Coordinator for St. Luke Lutheran Church and its affiliated sites, including the Common Cup a full-service coffeehouse located in the lower level of University Lutheran Chapel.