It's Real
Blog
Everyone has a story, share yours! Its Real Blog not only shares information about spreading the word, scriptures and more, but also shares real stories from real people about how the word has changed their life!
I was brought up in the Catholic Church. What I learned about God was that
my relationship with him solely depended on the Priest. It was not until I was in High School and attended a Baptist Church that I started to understand that my relationship was directly with God. You see, I lost my parents when I was 15. I watched my mother die of cancer. She was the one that always took me to church when I was growing up. It got to where we went only for holidays, weddings and funerals. I never really knew what a relationship with Christ was. I made my first communion and my confirmation. However, that did not tell me much about who I was to God. Fortunately, God was always there for me even when I did not realize it. He got me through the loss of both of my parents. I went through the next 10+ years know that God existed, but not really having that relationship with him. I kept God on a shelf until I needed him. Then, I called out for help.
Once the storm had passed, right back up on the shelf he went. After my youngest son was born, I contracted C-Diff. It put me in the hospital for 2 weeks not sure I was going to make it. I fell into a depression in the hospital as I could not see my 5 children at home. My baby was only a month and a half old, and I could not even hold him. I remember one day lying in the hospital bed hearing a code blue in the room across the hall. I knew then that I was on the floor where people were dying. Suddenly, Jesus appeared at my bed. I know what I should have felt, but at the time it was fear. I was not ready to go. I had too much here to do. What would happen to my kids. I picked up the phone and called a friend. I didn’t call my husband because I knew that he would be scared as well. I can see it so very clearly.
He didn’t say anything but stood at the end of the bed. He was very peaceful. He had a white robe on with a shimmering pink heart. I didn’t think about it before, but it was suggested to me recently that it was the sacred heart. My friend was also scared for me as you hear about Jesus coming to take you home. For me it was not the case. I believe he came to bring me peace and healing. As prior to his coming, the medication was not working, and I had to switch to something different. After that day, I began to recover and was able to be released on Christmas Day. I was able to hold my baby on his first Christmas. It was my Christmas
miracle. I say all this to tell you that Jesus is real.
Throughout my life, I can look back and see all the times that Jesus was there for me. All the times money was short and somehow a check would come in the mail just in time. One time I took my kids to the fair. It cost me $120 to take them. Money was tight as half my family was living in TN and the other in FL until our house sold. We get into the fair and the kids are riding the riders. I looked down on the ground and there was some folded up money. I
looked around to see if I could find anyone looking for money. I was not able to find anyone so I looked at how much it was. Yes, you guessed it $120. God is awesome and always provides.
It is not always what we want or think we should have. However, it is exactly enough. All things are in his timing. He will open the doors that are supposed to be open and close those that you should not enter. The hardest part is trusting him and not trying to push the doors open that we think we should go through.
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It has been a journey of learning how to trust in him. My prayer is that you give him the opportunity to show you all that he has for your life.
- Maggie's Testimony
I’ve known God my whole life. My mother raised me in the Catholic Church. I completed all of my sacraments whole heartedly, attended church every Sunday, went to youth group weekly, was an alter server and a member of the choir; I was the perfect example of a good Godly girl. But in college, I suffered from panic attacks and extreme anxiety. I was a full time student with multiple part time jobs and I felt like I was drowning in my anxiety. I was so busy that I didn’t make time for God and instead all of my time and attention was consumed by thought spirals that berated me daily. At one point I was having 3 panic attacks a day on average and I had to visit the campus mental health counselor on a daily basis. They quickly put me on antidepressants, which did eventually regulate and calm my symptoms down, but my innate tendency to immediately think of worst case scenarios and jump to fearful thoughts never went away.
A few years went by like this, until the first year after I graduated college when I had more time to consider my faith situation. I realized that somewhere along the way, I had stopped going to church and even worse, I stopped praying. So I started looking for a church that my current husband (boyfriend at the time) would go to with me, in hopes that when we got married one day, God would be a pillar in our marriage, and luckily we found Grace City Church in Lakeland. When I started attending church again, I felt like a lost sheep who had found her flock. I knew that’s what I had been missing all along, the medication and the therapy would only take me so far; Jesus would bring me the final stretch to peace. After 2 years of attending church and faithfully praying on a daily basis, I was able to get off of my medication and live peacefully. That is, until God anointed me with the desire to become a mother…. I had a beautiful pregnancy and a beautiful birthing experience, but when we came home with our daughter for the first time, fear was present for every waking moment of my every day. I couldn’t sleep the hour window that I was supposed to sleep in between feeding my baby and pumping breast milk every 2 hours. I was wracked with fear and intrusive thoughts that echoed in my mind. I was having panic attacks again and every time my baby cried, it felt like someone was stabbing me in the chest. At one point, while my baby was being held by a visitor and crying hysterically, I turned the faucet on as hot as it would go and stuck my hand in to distract me from the pain I felt. That’s when I knew I needed help. I talked to my OB who quickly diagnosed me with Postpartum Depression and Anxiety and put me back on the same antidepressants I had taken years earlier. Slowly, with therapy and attending bi-weekly support groups through PSI international, I started feeling like myself again. I leaned on God and he reassured me of my worth and my position as a mother.
Now, by His grace, I am happy, healthy and leading a postpartum support group for moms at my church. God has delivered me time and time again. He has broken the shackles of fear and anxiety from my wrists and set me free.
It is a pleasure to get to share that with you and encourage you to seek His Grace. He does not want you to live a life of fear, but a life of His peace and love.
- Nicole's Testimony
