My First Love “Closer than a Brother” Book 1

A Wise Woman
His Princess

Book 1
My First Love “Closer than a Brother”

Audiobook
Read by the AUTHOR Erin Thiele

"A Wise Princess 
Builds Her House
Set Apart
on the Rock"

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“My First Love”

When I was growing up, attending a private Catholic school, I often heard that nuns dedicated their whole lives to God — that they were “married to Him.” As a little girl, that idea fascinated me. I dreamed of living that kind of life — completely devoted to God, belonging only to Him. Deep inside was a longing I couldn’t understand until I was much older. But as a young girl, I quickly changed my mind when I realized such a life meant never having children of my own.

I absolutely loved babies! I loved making them laugh, seeing them smile, and hearing them giggle when I crawled after them across the floor. I played with baby dolls long after I was "too old." So I was delighted when I finally got to care for real babies—both the ones I babysat and my nephews when I became an aunt at nine.

My favorite game was pretending that all my dolls were my very own babies, and I had seven children, just like my mom.

Did you know that God says, “Children are a gift from the Lord… a reward!”I not only loved babies — I loved gifts and rewards too! Don’t you? So I wanted a home full of gifts and rewards!”

So I was torn, though I wanted a house full of children someday, I still had a deep-down longing to feel close to God. Little did I know that I could have both

“Forever Best Friend”

That longing became real the day I discovered that He wanted to be my Best Friend — the kind of friend who would never leave me and who would fill my heart with love.

Like many blessings, I discovered my Forever Best Friend in the middle of a crisis. My older brother and I attended a private school on the other side of the Hollywood Hills — in the San Fernando Valley, just beyond where the famous Hollywood sign stands. Every morning, our dad — who worked in the television and movie industry — dropped us off before heading to work. It was my brother, Adrian, who was responsible for getting me home each afternoon on the public bus.

But one fateful day, Adrian had other plans. He smiled mischievously and bribed me with enough money to buy a mile-high ice cream cone if I’d ride the bus home by myself. 

Adrian quizzed me over and over to be sure I knew exactly what to do — the names and numbers of both public buses, how much each fare cost, when to ask for a transfer, and where to get off to change buses. I was only in first grade, far too young to understand the danger, so I nodded eagerly, smiling as I patted the coins tucked safely in the pocket of my tiny blue uniform — bus fare and ice cream money ready.

Standing on the corner alone, my excitement began to fade into nervousness. Bus after bus stopped and opened its doors, but none matched the name or number I was looking for. Just as I started to feel unsure, my bus finally appeared. I climbed aboard, dropped my coins into the fare box, and carefully folded my transfer before slipping it safely into my uniform pocket. Then I found a seat, my heart light again, already dreaming of the mile-high strawberry ice cream cone waiting for me at the end of my adventure. 

Just as the bus passed the famous Chinese Theater — where I could see all the tourists taking pictures, standing in movie stars’ footprints, and pressing their hands into handprints — I jumped up and pulled the cord, excited to get off at the next stop—even though I knew I didn’t really need to. Adrian had always told me, "Erin, hold my hand because this is the busiest corner in all of Hollywood, maybe even the whole world!" 

But that day, no one held my hand.

Jumping up, I stood by the door before the bus even stopped so that I could be the first one to hop off. At the corner, I waited for the light to turn green, then crossed the street toward the soda fountain on the corner. I handed the man my money and ordered my long-dreamed-of strawberry mile-high ice cream cone. Delighted, I sat down and began flipping through comic books, completely losing track of time.

Suddenly, my heart skipped. I remembered I still had another bus to catch!

Running outside and looking up at the clock on the bank — it was exactly the time my bus was leaving. My stomach dropped as I turned and saw it — my bus — slowly pulling away from the stop where I should have been waiting.

This had happened once before, so I knew the next bus going back into the Valley wouldn’t come for another hour. I crossed the street toward my usual bus stop and slipped into the bank.

My brother Adrian and I loved to play in that bank when our mom went down into the basement vault to put important papers in or take important papers out in our Safe Deposit box. We’d ride the elevator up and down. We’d climb to the top of the marble staircase and sit down, sliding all the way to the lobby below, laughing the whole way.

But playing inside the bank was another mistake — it made me miss the next bus… and the bus after that.

By the time I finally got on the right bus to go home, it was getting dark. Being on a bus when it was bright inside but dark outside frightened me. I was sure I would miss my stop. So, even though there were many, many stops before mine, for a full hour, I cupped my hands around my eyes, pressing my face to the glass, watching carefully for my street.

Almost an hour later, after passing the Party Shop — the place where I once took something and got caught — I felt relieved to finally get off. But the moment I stepped onto the sidewalk, I was even more afraid. There were no streetlights on my block.

I began by walking…
then walking faster…
Then, finally, running as fast as my little legs could carry me — running home where I hoped I’d feel safe again.

By the time I reached the back door, tears were running down my cheeks. I was sure Adrian would be in terrible trouble for not taking me home.

As soon as I walked into the kitchen, I heard my mother call, “Hurry and take your uniform off, Erin, dinner is almost ready.”

Still sobbing, I told her that Adrian had made me ride home alone!

Turning around, while still stirring the spaghetti sauce, she smiled and gently said,
“But look what a big girl you are, Erin — you made it home just fine.”

"All Things for Good"

“Why did this happen?” I wondered. “If God loves me, why did something bad happen?”

Sometimes we don’t understand why hard things come our way. But the Good News is that God promises to make all things work together for good—even the things that don’t make sense when they happen.

Would you believe this was all part of God’s plan? It’s true! God used that scary day—and every hard thing that’s ever happened in my life—for something good. He allowed this crisis to prepare me for my future, and even my children’s future , too. And the same is true for you!

That night, as I lay in bed, I realized something very important—no one can be with us all the time. My mom loved me very much, but she didn’t understand how frightened I had been. And even with lots of older brothers and sisters, none of them could always be there to hold my hand, lead me, or make sure I never missed another bus.

I remember whispering into the dark, wishing for someone who could be with me always—a big brother, a mother, a father, a friend. Someone who would never leave me, never forget me, never stop loving me. Someone who truly understood.

Does that sound like Someone you’d like to meet—Someone who wants to be your Forever Best Friend, too? 

There were many more times I rode the bus alone that year before summer vacation. Even though I had learned my lesson about staying near the bus stop, the fear of being alone still sometimes gripped my heart.

Then, at just the right time, God's appointed time, something amazing happened. God made me His Princess — and I would never be alone again.

That year, my favorite teacher was a tiny nun whom God sent to prepare our class for something very special—our first communion. She explained that the bread, or wafers, represented the bread our Savior shared at the Last Supper when He said, "This is My body," a tradition practiced in many churches around the world.

Then she said, "Before you can invite your Savior into your heart, you need your heart to be clean," and she helped us get ready for our first confession. We learned to confess, which is to tell God the truth about what was in our hearts and anything we'd felt badly about because we knew it was wrong.

Our nun was extra special and handpicked. She grew up as the daughter of a Baptist minister! God chose her for me, because through her, I met my Prince… the Prince of Peace.

He was the Friend I had longed for—the One who would always be with me, no matter where I was. That day, I fell in love with the Son of God, my Forever Best Friend.

From then on, I knew I would never walk alone. He would lead me, guide me, protect me, and make me feel safe, no matter where life took us. Looking back, I can see how God caused everything to work together for GOOD—even the scary things—led me to that exact moment when I would meet that special Someone who would never forsake, abandon, or forget me. Someone who truly understood.

“How I Met My Best Friend”

It happened one day when our teacher explained something I’ll never forget. She told us that even though a priest (who is like a pastor, preacher, rabbi, or spiritual teacher) would be sitting in the confessional, we could imagine we were speaking straight to God Himself — telling Him everything in our hearts. She said we could even start right then, while kneeling quietly in the church.

So, I did. In the stillness, I began whispering to God about everything I’d ever done wrong — like wanting my brother to get in trouble for making me ride the bus alone, for the time I stole something from the Party Shop, and for all the times I talked in class when I wasn’t supposed to, felt good to confess.

When I finished, something amazing happened. I felt wonderfully different inside — so light and full of joy that tears ran down my cheeks! My teacher saw me and gave me a gentle hug, but the hug I felt came from deep inside. I knew it was from Him.

I was happier than I had ever been in my whole life. For the first time, I felt completely safe and full of peace, like I'd been born again.

My name, Erin, actually means peace, but I had never really known what peace felt like — not until that moment. It was a kind of peace that no one can really explain — a peace that only God can give, that exceeds, surpasses all understanding.

After a few minutes, while everyone else took turns visiting the priest, our teacher quietly passed around small wafers. Then, in a soft voice, our teacher said, “Now it’s time to ask the Lord into your heart, because your hearts are clean.”

She told us, “Ask Him to come and live there, and give your life and your future to Him.” So I bowed my head again and whispered my prayer. She said it's not like reciting a prayer you memorize, like the Lord's Prayer, the Our Father—it's just "you talking to God."

She told us, “Ask Him to come and live in you — to give your life and your future to Him.”

So I bowed my head again and whispered my prayer, talking directly to my Savior, asking Him to live in my heart. Wow, in that very moment, something changed inside me — instantly and completely!

What happened wasn’t about learning more about Him or studying religion — it was about discovering a relationship that would last a lifetime. God doesn’t ask us to earn His love; He gives it freely to anyone who invites their Savior in. God says, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with Me."

This means we can actually communicate and talk to Him!

The change in me was so clear that everyone noticed! “Something’s gotten into Erin! She’s not that mischievous little girl anymore!” My parents believed it was because of the Catholic school I attended — and in a way, they were right. It was the nun who God chose to help me find Him and His forgiveness— who encouraged me to invite the Lord to live in my heart.

From that day on, I was never the same. That was the moment the Lord became my FBF — my Forever Best Friend.

Looking back, I can see how God carefully planned each step of my life — just like He did for so many people in the Bible. Just like He’s doing in your life right now.

God set my life apart for something special, just as He's set you apart.Sometimes that meant I didn’t always fit in or do what everyone else did. Do you ever feel that way? Because now that I'm older, I understand — He was shaping my heart for His good purpose, guiding me toward the beautiful future He had in mind.

"Set Apart for His Good Use"

All three of my brothers were much older than I was, and because I was a bit of a tomboy, my sisters didn’t want much to do with me.

I didn’t have school friends either. Our family lived in the Valley, but my school was in Hollywood. It took more than an hour to get home on the public bus, so I couldn’t stay and play after school, making friends, like the other children. As a very strict private school, we weren’t allowed to talk in class—even at lunchtime, we had to eat quietly at our desks. Yet, by grade two, I was fine with this rule because I would whisper to the Lord instead.

Being a tomboy also made it harder to have close girlfriends. Back then, talking on the phone with classmates in Hollywood was impossible —it was called a “long-distance,” which meant my father would see a long-distance call, which he had to pay for every minute!

Making friends in my neighborhood was also impossible because the children were all younger, and in the few after-school activities I joined—like ballet and later swimming—I always lived too far away from everyone else to spend time together.

So, for most of my childhood, I had only one faithful, close Friend—my Forever Best Friend. Set apart, He went with me everywhere. I could talk to Him, and He always listened and answered whenever I called. He always understood. And even though I was often alone… I was never lonely again.

Epilogue —
“What Happened Later”

Many times, I rode the bus home by myself — but I was never truly alone. God was preparing me to be comfortable being “set apart,” so that one day I would be ready to travel around the world. He taught me to listen for His gentle voice, guiding me when to turn “right or left.”

Along the way, I answered when He asked, "Who will go for us?" "Send me," I said. He led me to meet people everywhere — people who longed to know their Forever Best Friend, the One who would never leave or forsake them. Someone who would always be closer than a brother, who loves them even more than a mother, and whose comfort never ends — even when life is hard or families fall apart.

And because God loves to give us the “desires of our hearts,” He did something wonderful for me. Do you remember how, when I was little, I changed my mind about becoming a nun because I longed to have children of my own? God didn’t forget that dream. He blessed me with seven children — the number of completion — and through them, His love continued to travel far and wide.

One of my three daughters and one of my four sons grew up to do the same thing — traveling the world, meeting people from many nations, and sharing His love with little girls and boys, moms, and dads, in many languages and places.

God truly gave me the desires of my heart — a big family filled with love, and a life filled with purpose.

If this story has touched your heart or helped you feel less alone, I’d love for you to share your own story. Your story — your testimony — can help others overcome their fears and discover the joy of knowing they are never truly alone.