It is a treat for the appetite of the avid reader to enter the bright yellow Heaven Sent Christian Bookstore located just a few steps off Main Street at 122 SW Monroe Ave. in Mayo and owned by local resident Sherrie Harrell. The shelves are stocked with Bibles, books for children and adults, cassettes and videos. There is also a plentiful selection of gifts such as figurines and jewelry. Harrell said, “If you want it but don’t see it, ask for it.”

Harrell attributes the unique name “Heaven Sent” to a earlier experience her family went through when their firstborn child Destiny was extremely ill. According to Harrell, she and her husband Roger had spent weeks at the bedside of their then 19-month-old baby who was in a coma from a mysterious illness. Harrell said near the time Destiny opened her eyes from the coma a huge rainbow appeared outside the hospital window even though there wasn’t a cloud in the sky nor had a single raindrop fallen. Harrell said as she and her husband thought back on the incredible goodness of God’s care for their child symbolized by the rainbow that was “Heaven Sent” they knew this was to be the name of their recent venture into the business world.

Destiny survived the illness and now at six-years-old, appears to have no visible reminder of the strange illness that nearly took her life. Destiny enjoys greeting customers along with her mom as little brother Randall gives them a grin that is sure to melt your heart.

The 1991 graduate of Lafayette High School has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Warner Southern College in Lake Wales. After graduation she returned to the county and spent six years with the state as an education teacher at Mayo Correctional Institution before opening her own business.

For more information email Harrell at heavensentbookstore@msn.com or stop by to browse and visit with the Harrell family.