Pearl, the Homely Angel

Pearl the Homely Angel is about an angel who had been in heaven for a very long time. The other angels received assignments to go to earth. Some were sent to give a message like Gabriel was sent to Mary. Some were sent to comfort a sick child or a grieving family.

Pearl never received an assignment. When she would ask for one, they would always say, "Not this time, Pearl. Your turn will come later." But the years passed and she never was sent.

Pearl thought that she knew why. It was because she was homely-or ugly. She had large ears that stuck out, a big nose, and unruly curly hair. But worst of all were the freckles that she called polka dots There were everywhere.

Finally, one day, she heard her name being called, "Pearl, Pearl where are you? You have an important job." Then, she realized that it wasn't how you look.

God uses everyone in different ways. You just have to be patient and prepared when He calls.

The book also includes a stand-up angel that can be cut out and fasten together to sit on a child's desk.

Zeata Ruff, mother of three, grandma of five, has lived most of her life in western North Carolina where she grew up. She received her unusual name from her father, an Army vet who was stationed in Italy during WWII. He loved children and thought "Zeata" was the name of the little girl who hung around his camp. He wrote his wife a letter and asked her to name their expected child that if she were a girl. Obviously, she was and her mother did. As an adult, Zeata and her husband, Jim, had the opportunity to visit Italy, and when she told their Italian guide the story and asked her what "Zeata" means, the guide said, "Are you sure you want to know? It means shut up!" Which is probably appropriate because Zeata rarely shuts up! She worked for thirty years in the public school system as a secretary and part-time art teacher. Zeata's love of art has grown through the years as she and Jim traveled throughout the southeast selling her work at large shows. The prints were usually personalized, for the buyer, by writing their family's names on Santa's list, or on a mailbox, or on a street sign. This allowed people to show pride in their family just as Zeata has pride in hers. In the early 1960s, as a student at Mars Hill College, Zeata had an end-of-the-year assignment in a Business Letter Writing class. She was to write letters applying for a job, a resume, an acceptance letter, etc. Not really wanting a job per se, Zeata wrote her letters applying for the job of wife to her current boyfriend. She told him how she could cook, had babysitting experience, and other attributes that would make her an excellent wife. When the professor handed them back, he said, "I am not quite sure what grade to give this, but you really need to write a book." Zeata kept this comment in her heart and began writing the book in her head.Almost 50 years later, while recuperating from a serious illness, Jim asked, "Is there anything you haven't done that you really wish you had?" She told him the story about the letters and her professor's comment, and that she had the book written in her head just not on paper. He replied, "well, you had better get started or you will never finish." A year later, with his constant encouragement, Zeata's first novel, End of the Road, was published. Approximately a year after that, her first children's picture book, The Gumdrop Tree, came out and now Pearl, the Homely Angel Is in Print.