Spend a day or two with Dr. Mary Edwards-Williams and you will quickly learn three things about her. First, she loves books. Second, she loves to network, which earned her the affectionate title of “The Holy Hookup Lady” throughout Detroit, Canada, and beyond. Third, she loves to evangelize. From her perspective, Jesus was a streetwalker, so she follows in his footsteps.
Yet, with all these titles, her true passion is found in inspiring others to leave a legacy. It is so important to her that she created this acronym:
LEAVING EVERY GENERATION A CHRONICLE OF YOU
A chronicle is a story, so she asks, “What’s your story?”
Her own autobiography, Born Grown, was written in 2007. It tells how a 13-year-old pregnant teen, after receiving a doomsday prophecy of “becoming nothing but a negative welfare statistic,” was blessed in 1990 to receive a “Thousand Points of Light Award” from former President George H. W. Bush. Among other things, the award was for getting women off welfare. She was one of those women.
With such an unexpected start to her life journey, she defied the odds to become the woman she is today. While fulfilling God’s destiny and purpose for her life these past 79-years (80 Eve), she came to the wonderful conclusion that all of her works are ribs of the umbrella, “Legacy: Leaving Every Generation a Chronicle of You.”
Dr. Edwards-Williams began to emphasize the importance of legacy in 2004 when her late husband, Rev. Eddie K. Edwards went home to be with the Lord. She started with their granddaughter, Angel M. Edwards, when she was just 8 years old. That’s when she helped her to write and publish her first book. From there, Angel had the wonderful opportunity to personally present it to First Lady Michelle Obama. If her granddaughter can do it, there is nothing stopping you from taking that bold step to leave your legacy.
Over the years, Dr. Edwards-Williams has helped numerous writers leave their own mark on the world through her company called Leaves of Gold Book Consulting, LLC. When we asked her what advice she had on using writing as a ministry, Dr. Edwards-Williams stated, “Do not hesitate to give your services free to the needy. God will let you know when to do this. Freely you have received. Freely give,” quoting St. Matthew 10:8.
Her number one piece of advice to aspiring writers is this: “Pick up the pen and write! Too many people ‘write in their heads’ and it never gets on paper and to the public. You must be intentional. Schedule your writing time just as you would a doctor’s appointment or a social engagement.”
In the words of “80 Eve” Dr. Edwards-Williams, when it comes to living the life God called you to live and leaving every generation a chronicle of you: “Nothing gets done until you do it.”
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