My Story
The Beginning...
In the beginning, Willie and Helen Tollison found out that they were pregnant with their 5th child. Helen had complications while carrying this baby to term. She went through a lot of pain, that would have caused some women in today's world to give up and abort...but not Helen. She believed in the sanctity of life and the thought never even entered her mind. On a sunny morning in July she gave birth to a healthy baby girl at home. She named her Paula Bernice Tollison after her Aunt Polly (Willie's sister). Married at 20...
In July of 1972, I was married in Missouri with my dad officiating the ceremony. I truly believed that this marriage would last for a lifetime. As it turns out it didn't, but I have good memories of raising my children with their dad. We both loved the Lord, but we allowed "stuff" to get in the way, causing trouble that became irreparable (or so it seemed to us at the time) Children at 24... By the age of 24, I had my first son, Bradley Duaine. Then in a couple of years at 26 I gave birth to my second son, Bryan Douglas. I worked outside the home off and on during their early years and then at the age of 30, I went through a devastating miscarriage. I was 5 months along and was required to go through the delivery process even though the baby was no longer alive. So hard! Then the next year I discovered that I was pregnant and delivered my baby boy, Brandon Dean. These boys have been the light of my life! And even though they are now married with families of their own, I could not love them any less than I did the moment I laid eyes on them. They are awesome young men that live their lives with integrity. They each went to Missouri Baptist College in St Louis, MO. where they met their forever mates...Holly, Stacy and Ashley. I always told my boys that all I wanted for them was to find someone that loved them as much as I do...that was important to me. Each of these beautiful young ladies are great wives and mothers to my grandchildren and I am so thankful for them. I really do love Holly, Stacy and Ashley and am so thankful for the way they love my boys. 
_Grandchildren...
Life goes on in the most wonderful way. I have 11 of the most precious grandchildren in the world. When I look at their sweet innocent faces, I see a piece of me there...they are in my thoughts and prayers everyday. Here are their names in the order of their birth...Joseph, Cooper, Margo, Sloan, Jonas, Nora, Everett, Lawson, Blythe, Owen and Nolan. They are so smart, but most importantly they are considerate and kind. I travel to see them when I can, but am so thankful for technology and the ability to be able to "Skype" with them. They take turns talking to Gma and I love it! |
Divorce...
After having a complete hysterectomy due to some health issues, I went through one of the most difficult times of my life. I cannot explain the changes that went through me. All I can say is that this surgery changed my personality for a time, and ultimately changed the course of the rest of my life. I was not as close to the Lord as I needed to be. Oh...I went through the motions, but inside I was a mess! I left my husband and for the first time in 27 years...I was alone with no money. The story is too long to go into, and you don't really need to know everything. Just know that I wish I had handled things differently, but I didn't and now I live everyday knowing that I disappointed people that I care deeply about. But the story doesn't end there, thank the Lord.- Restoration... Sleepless nights turned into sleepless months. I would go to bed at night and would stare at the ceiling...not finding any sheep to count. All I could think about was that my relationship with my family was not what it should be. I had married my best friend, Bobby and now had 2 step sons (Jonathan & William) that were so sweet to me. Bobby loved me so much and I can't tell you how thankful I was and am for him. I had this huge void that I couldn't seem to fill with busyness. I still had trouble forgiving people that had not been there for me during my separation and divorce. The unforgiveness and guilt were eating me up. I had people reach out to me during this time and I closed myself off to them. And when I did go to lunch with someone, all I could talk about was how "I" had been hurt. Something had to change. I knew I needed to get my life back on track. I started listening to different Bible studies online and started praying that God would show Himself to me. I learned so much during this time...it was my first step in restoration. I claimed a scripture "I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." I started saying that over and over...because I had learned how powerful your words are. I started telling God how thankful I was for the blessings I had instead of crying over what I didn't have. Situations that I had no control over, I turned over to the Lord. I learned that I can't be ALL things to all people, but I can be the loving and caring person that I was created to be. Do I sometimes fail? Oh yes I do! Does God understand? Oh yes He does! And when I get disappointed that things aren't as I would like them to be...you know what I do? I say my scripture, "I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." 
_Move To Nashville...
Bobby and I moved to Nashville, TN in 2005 with the hopes of being more centrally located between our families. The crazy thing about that is...some of our family ended up moving farther away. I don't get to see my kids and grandkids as much as I would like, but when I do...buddy do I enjoy it. Before Brad moved to Tulsa, he and his family came to Nashville to visit with us and we couldn't have been happier than to have them here. Jonathan married Kathryn Smith in 2010 and they along with William (all from Lexington, KY) are able to come and visit us from time to time. We found a place to call "our church" and have met some wonderful people that love God and love others with a passion. We bought our home in 2011 and some of these folks helped us get settled in. During a facetime call recently with Jon and Kathryn they told us that a grandbaby would be arriving in September of 2013...that will make a dozen grandbabies...life is so good. |
What Now?
I hope that this "lengthy" description of my life helps you get an idea of who I am. Even though I enjoy my job at the FOX17 station in Nashville...I still have a dream of working from home and making my own hours while helping other people do the same thing. I will claim that scripture for my business too..."I will see the goodness of the Lord in my business, in the land of the living in Nashville!!! I'm excited to see what will happen!
I hope that this "lengthy" description of my life helps you get an idea of who I am. Even though I enjoy my job at the FOX17 station in Nashville...I still have a dream of working from home and making my own hours while helping other people do the same thing. I will claim that scripture for my business too..."I will see the goodness of the Lord in my business, in the land of the living in Nashville!!! I'm excited to see what will happen!
