Life in the Valley

“Too bad it’s another girl,” were the first words Laura’s father spoke as he looked into the face of the tiny newborn in her mother’s arms."

Born into a devout German Catholic family in the 1950s, the eighth of eleven children, Laura’s early years were filled with outdoor fun and hard work on their large Texas farm. At the age of six years Laura learned how to drive the family’s old farm truck and at four o’clock every morning she’d head out to the far reaches of the ranch to wake up the cows and send them to the milk barn. But life became unbearable when financial stress and illness led Laura’s father to become abusive, and, at fourteen, she determined to take her life. As she sat down to write her suicide note God stepped in and intervened, redirecting her life and setting her on a path that would ultimately lead her to discover the love she longed to find. 

“The story of Laura Hamilton’s life journey from devoted German Catholic through physical and emotional abuse to successful environmental engineer to Seventh-day Adventist pastor’s wife is thoughtful and engaging. It reminds me in some respects of the classic book, The Marked Bible.”—Max C. Torkelsen, former president of the North Pacific Union Conference.