MY STORY - PART I

Yesterday our Pastor encouraged us to tell our story. As people may look at our lives and think to themselves, I want to be like him/her or we may be looking at someone else's life thinking I want what he/she has. The problem is we don't know the story behind their glory.

Pastor referenced the Apostle Paul at the time, Saul. Paul was one of the biggest persecutors of the church. He went so far as to kill people that were following the Way. Yet one day, as Paul was going along a bright light shined and Jesus spoke to him.

Acts 22:6-14 6“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’
8“‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.
“‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. 9My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.
10“‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.
“‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ 11My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.
12“A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. 13He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.
14“Then he said: ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’

Now one may think after that all was good, Paul walked away from there, all was well and he went on to write the majority of the books of the New Testament...however this is what Paul went through in between the vision and the manifestation of his blessings....2 Corinthians 11:24-33 24Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?
30If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. 32In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. 33But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.

I must say that I have known Jesus since I can remember. My mother took me to church for as long as I can remember. She would be in the sanctuary and I would go to my classroom and have bible class. I knew all about prayer, faith, positive thought and positive speaking and I thank the Lord for instilling in my mother to take me to church to get to know Him for myself!

Now for my story Part I....January 4, 2010 a day I will never forget because I purchased my first car. I wrote out a check and drove home with my car that day and waited for my title to come in the mail.

So I have been blessed to have never paid a car note as of yet in my life. It has been 10 years I still have my car and it gives me no real troubles and has never had a major breakdown GLORY TO GOD. My ability to do that however goes back to 1986. I rode the school bus to and from school and was dropped off at my grandparents house.

One day the bus driver decided to drop me off on the wrong side of the street. She opened the door, put out the stop sign, got off the bus and told me it was ok to cross. I started running across the street and the next thing you know I barely came to in an ambulance crying I wanted my granddaddy.

A driver decided to ignore the stop sign and go around the stop sign and I was hit by a car. Thank the Lord the impact immediately knocked me out so I felt no pain from it at that time. I then came to and was at St. Anne's hospital. My right leg was outstretched and my left leg was bent so the heel of my foot was by my behind. I stayed in a hospital for 6 weeks in traction. That means my left leg was suspended in the air. I could not get out of the bed to walk or use the bathroom.

Once released from the hospital I was placed in a cast from my foot to my hips. The cast was so heavy I couldn't walk so again I had to use the bathroom via bed pan. Once the cast was removed since I had not used my left leg in so long and it was very weak from the cast I had to receive therapy to learn how to walk all over again as if I were a toddler/baby. Once I learned how to walk again I had to become comfortable walking up and down the stairs. I remember I used to scoot up and down the stairs and it would drive my daddy crazy as he was afraid I would never fully recover!

On top of all of that I was in the 1st grade and missed months of school. Nevertheless once out of the cast a tutor came everyday and worked with me on my school work in my dining room.

The lady who hit me did not have car insurance. It wasn't a requirement back then. Nevertheless my mother sued her as well as the bus company for the bus drivers negligence. In 1989 the suit came to a close and I received a sum of money that was then placed in an account until my 18th birthday.

On my 18th birthday I went to the bank withdrew some funds, invested a great deal of the money in mutual funds and knew then that I wanted a car. However, I decided to wait. I researched and researched I also wanted to buy my car off of the interest not spending my own. Where did I get that wisdom from, my momma! Hallelujah for I thank the Lord that my mom prayed to Him for her wisdom. So when it is all said and done it was nothing but the Lord who was on my side!

Be a blessing and be blessed,
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