Stories Of Hope- I Don’t Have to Be Strong Anymore

I thought I was strong and independent. I had good parents. They loved me and supported my decisions. I grew up in the 1970’s. My mom put me on birth control pills at the age of 16. That was what a lot of parents did at that time. The problem was I was so forgetful. I married my high school sweetheart and had a baby at 18. My husband went away to college, and I joined the navy. My mother kept our baby. As time went on, the distance between us grew. Physical abuse became a factor, and we divorced. My 1st marriage didn’t work. I remarried and got divorced a second time. 

After making poor choices and picking the wrong men, I found myself alone with 5 children and child support for only one of them. Thank God, I still had my mom and dad. No matter what went wrong in my life I always blamed myself.  I can remember bearing all the weight when things went wrong. I wanted my dad to be proud of me, so I did my best to take care of my children. I thought in order to be responsible, I had to be the mother and the father. I took on male dominated jobs. I served 4 years in the navy. I drove a bus for C.T.A. I worked as a counselor/correctional officer. I had a job laying tile for six years. The only bad thing about being the only woman working with men is you become like them: hard, strong, and tough. They respect you when you pull your weight. I was so good at it, my children would tell me,

 “Happy Father’s Day.” One day, my mother called me up to tell me she was back in school. I said, “Good, what are you studying?”  

She said, “I am going to school to be a minister.”  I replied, “What, and what for?” I instantly got angry. I couldn’t understand why I got so mad. I loved my mom. She told me she was leaving the Catholic Church to attend an Apostolic Church. That seemed to upset me even more. The little time I spent in church was okay, even though I didn’t understand Latin or care what was on the other side of the confession box. I felt threatened. My mother encouraged me to come to church with her. I came back home and decided I’d try this new church thing. I didn’t like it. The music was sad. It made me cry and feel uncomfortable. My mother was a different woman. She was always reading the bible, praying, and writing about God.  

My dad died in 2005, and my mom died six months later. When my mom died, it was so hard. She didn’t have insurance, and we had no money for a funeral. I felt awful. Soul Winning Tracts The pressure was all on me to do something. Then, God came through. We received help from family, friends, coworkers, the funeral home, the bank, and my daughter’s little league team. Only God could do this. Everything works out according to His plan for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. After that, I started going to church. I decided I was going to serve God. At first, I was a terrible servant. I was still dragging along my sins, but God was patient and loving with me. God became more than a mother and father. He also gave me a spiritual mother named Mother Williams who taught me about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. She taught me how to fall in love with God and what it is like to live for Him. God also answered my prayers by giving me a wonderful husband who loves us. God is my everything. I don’t have to be strong anymore. God is strong for me, and He is responsible for my life. He can be your everything too.  True stories of hope from REAL LIFE STORIES inspire and encourage.