One of the main reasons I started this blog was to share with you God's incredible FAITHFULNESS through my experiences! I'm alive only because of Him! Hallelujah! So in order to tell you my story.... I must first rewind and start at the beginning! And just to give you a heads up.... I will be doing this in segments!
Life is a journey... twists, turns, dead ends, blessings, heartache, and many surprises. God has written for each one of us our own journey.... our own story! He works in all of our lives in many different, miraculous, and amazing ways. It's our job to share it with the world!
We all have a story to tell...
I am very blessed to have a mother and father who are madly in love with the Lord and have dedicated their lives to Him! I know that because of their faith, I was raised on a strong foundation where I learned about God and His love for me and witnessed it day after day through their actions. I praise God for them.
When I was 6 months old, I contracted spinal meningitis. My parents told me they remember that I spiked at a very high fever and while in the hospital, was having seizures because of the high fever. My mom and dad can only tell me that those next few days were a big blur as their emotions were everywhere. But praise God, after a few days in the hospital, the spinal meningitis was gone, I was better, and I was allowed to go home.
When I was 5 years old, I asked Jesus to come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior! I remember going to Sunday School every week and my teacher talking about Jesus dying for me so I could go to heaven. So one morning I told my mom I want to ask Jesus to come into my heart and save me so I could go to heaven. And we prayed together on my bed that morning! I thank God again for my amazing parents and for being raised under their faith in God because if I wasn't saved at an early age or knew about God's love and grace as I got older.... I have no idea where I would be today!
When I was 8, I was bit by a tick, and contracted Lymes Disease. Growing up in South Jersey... it's almost inevitable. It's like every other person you knew had Lymes Disease. We live in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, so there are ticks all over the forests. So to take care of my Lymes Disease, I had to have an I.V. in my arm and feed medicine through it daily. As an 8 year old, this was a nightmare... I remember crying so many times because they had to take more than 4 or 5 attempts to try and get an I.V. in my arm, sometimes the I.V. would fall out, and it was the summer and I couldn't go swimming. I had to do this for a total of 8 weeks. And by the end, my veins were so shot from the I.V.s that I remember they stuck me 16 times before giving up.
Well... that wasn't all. The Lymes Disease ended up giving me Bells Palsy on the left side of my face. Bells Palsy is a tempory paralysis in the face. For me, this meant I had no control over my muscles and nerves on the left side of my face, and my face just drooped. To treat my Bells Palsy I had to go through electrical stimulation which is when they use an electrical current to stimulate or cause a single muscle or nerve to contract. This contraction makes the injured muscles strengthen and promotes healing. I also had to look in the mirror every morning and do facial exercises of smiling and frowning and other expressions to help strengthen my facial muscles. It took a while, but I praise God that my face healed and got back to normal where no one can see a difference at all. Only I can feel this, but when I smile, I still can feel a difference in one side being stronger than the other. But God is our AMAZING healer and I praise Him for healing me of the Lymes Disease and Bells Palsy.
When I was 10, my family and I were on the road taking a family vacation. We had a Bronco at the time and we were pulling a pop- up camper on the back of the Bronco with plans of going camping! I remember we were taking the ferry as a nice break on our road trip south. When it was time to drive off the ferry, my sister and I wanted to see through the front window. So I remember we piled pillows on our seat and sat on top of the pillows so we could see. We had no seat belts on. Right after we got off the ferry, a drunk driver ran into our camper... making our bronco turn and go up a telephone pole. My sister and I flew forward in the impact and I remember my dad was able to catch my sister, but I hit my head pretty bad on the dashboard. Thankfully we were all able to walk away and after being checked out in the hospital, we were all fine! Praise God again for His protection and safety over us!
..... this is just the beginning of the story God has written in my life....
and every day I praise God for being alive. For I could have died at 6 months... at 8 years old... or at 10 years old. But God has shown me HIS FAITHFULNESS... His everlasting faithfulness in my life! God has decided to keep me longer because I know He has a bigger purpose and calling for me. My work for Him is not finished!
So I just want to encourage you.... whatever you're going through... God is FAITHFUL and He will see you through it!! It might not be physical problems like I had... it could be financial, relationships, unemployment, you name it! Whatever you're going through... know that God is with you and He will see you through!!! Just TRUST in HIM!!! Just TRUST! Let go and TRUST! Take that leap of faith! Give over your worries, give over your burdens. Leave them at His feet! He will take care of you!! You are His child! He loves you!
And this is just the first chapter of my life..... stay tuned for what happened next when I turned 13. It's only by God's grace that I'm here... only His grace...
Psalms 36:5-9:
5 Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
You, LORD, preserve both people and animals.
7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
Living by God's heartbeat...
Loving Recklessly,
Becky
