Exodus 15:2, New International Version

“The Lord is my strength and my defense. He became my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.”

My life started out rough. I almost died at the age of three months from bronchial pneumonia. I was allergic to milk. So, I lived on goats' milk and bananas and rice for the first year. I guess you could say that was the start of my walk with the Lord.

If you know my family, you will know that my mom was our rock. And my dad was a good provider but not always easy to live with. He wasn't physically abusive but mentally made us think we weren't smart enough. I was afraid of him.

Let me come back to that in a minute. I went away from the Lord in my twenties, doing stuff I shouldn't…  no drugs..  I was drinking and other stupid stuff … because I just didn't care. Then one day my Grandma Stewart sat me down and said she was worried about me. You had to know my grandma. She was a quiet lady and a God-fearing lady. So, I took what she said to heart. Then one day when I was around twenty-seven the urge to drink and be stupid stopped. Power of prayer on my grandma's part.

I then faced a new challenge with cervical cancer. You know when people say God puts people in your life for a reason? Well, that was Richard, my future husband. He was my strength when I needed it the most. When we were first dating I had become diagnosed with cervical cancer. When I told him, He stopped the truck and said no words and just hugged me. That's when I knew he was the one! When I needed prayer he prayed with me, when I didn't understand the bible, he explained it to me. When my mom and dad got sick at the same time, he was there. Someone asked how are you doing this? My answer: “The Lord above,” and “Richard.”

Back to my dad. I needed to make peace with him, so I told him how I felt. Things were better after we spoke.  I saw my dad pray out loud which had never happened before. One week later he passed away.

I have been through many trials from not being able to have kids. I had a complete hysterectomy. I lost my parents. Richard's mom passed away. Richard and my nephew J.J. passing away after twelve days I was in the hospital for an infection. I still don't understand and through it all you know who was there for me - the Lord. 

Exodus 15:2 (NIV) says, “The Lord is my strength and my defense. He became my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God and I will exalt him.”

My journey was renewed with my church family in Tennessee, which led me to a group of people there at Everyone's Welcome Church. They are my extended family who help me to further my connection with the Lord. Again, this family has been put into my life for a purpose. The Lord has a plan, I am not sure what it is, but I will wait for his lead.  

Since giving this testimony, I have faced new challenges finding one of my best friend's dead. New health issues. There were two episodes where I blacked out, resulting in my ability to drive. Let's just say it has been very stressful. Through it all the one thing I knew I could count on was God, even though I was still scared and afraid to give it all to Him. He was there!