From My Heart to Your Heart

About the Book

Poetry has given me a voice to express the many emotions I am feeling at a particular time. I grew up in the era when children were to be seen and not heard. Childhood was difficult for me because I loved to talk, but I was not allowed or encouraged to address my feelings, nor was I even asked what I thought. I was the youngest child of four for eight years but still the baby girl. By the eleventh year of my life, I was no longer the baby; I became the middle child. People can’t comprehend what that did to me, unless they have been there. I always enjoyed talking, which got me into trouble in school. I had lots of dolls, with which I was able to create my own world until I began to write short stories and then poetry. I came to an understanding of God’s existence when I was about eight. I spent a lot of time talking to Him, especially when I was sad. I didn’t really get to know the true knowledge of Jesus Christ and salvation until I was twenty-five. Thirty-five years later, I can no longer contain the love, joy, and peace that abide on the inside. My recent poems, mixed with some of my earlier poems, are being poured out for all to share and be partakers of God’s grace and mercy. Allowing the Holy Spirit to direct and awaken in me emotions that I was unable to express has been a journey all its own as well as a true blessing. I have always loved poetry; it has a way of saying things that are soothing to the heart of the hearers instead of harsh to what they hear with their natural ears. The journey begins on the inside with the key that unlocks what the heart has to say.

About the Author

Alicia G. Smith-Mackall grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, where she lived with her two sisters, three brothers, and both parents for over fifty years. She is a wife, a mother, a godmother, and a grandmother. At a young age, Alicia knew she wanted to be a nurse. Her desire to help people propelled her to attend college in Baltimore and receive her license as a registered nurse in 1976. She followed her passion for helping people as a nurse, which took her on an incredible journey of more than thirty-five years. During that time, she was able to discern some of the talents and gifts God had given her as well as discover and explore new ones. As a Christian nurse, she worked very closely with the community, and in that setting she met many people who profoundly influenced her. Because of their love for her, she was inspired to share the love of Christ with as many as she was able to touch. While anticipating their move to North Carolina, both she and her husband, Robert, were ordained in the office of pastor, which was something that God would have them embrace later in their ministry journey. After God released Alicia to move from Maryland, she and Robert were led to Jacksonville, North Carolina, in 2006, where they now reside. Both being praying Christians, they attended River of Life Church in Jacksonville and became members. This was truly a godsend. Alicia is now able to walk more freely than ever in a closer relationship with her first love, God the Father. The peace and serenity she found with Him and in North Carolina opened the door to her soul, allowing her to do what she had suppressed: write poems. Now retired, Alicia is ready to embark on what she hopes to be the fulfillment of a lifelong dream: this book of poems, From My Heart to Your Heart, and more writings in the near future.