I have debated on whether to share details about my childhood. I feel like most of the details should be kept private but that I definitely need to share this story. I feel like if I don’t share this story than you will be missing out on a BIG part of who I am. This might be a hard story for me tell for many reasons, the biggest reason is I have avoided going into details about this event at all cost! Sure I’ve mentioned it here and there but I have never discussed in detail what happened with even my husband.
It was the summer before I was to start the 7th grade and I had this great idea that I would go to my mom’s and we could get to know each other. Turns out that was not going to happen. I was at my uncle house visiting with my cousin, when my mom called and said she wanted me to come back to her house. There was this guy she knew who was having a family reunion, there would be a lot of the kids and she thought it would be good for me to go. I protested and told her I wanted to stay with my cousin. Anyways, I ended up back at my mom’s house. Where I found out she was not going with me and I told her again that I didn’t want to go. The guy came picked me and off we went.
He drove for a while, I think the final place was somewhere like Roane. We stopped at a Taco Bell on the way there. I remember he ate a Mexican Pizza. It took me years to be able to eat a Mexican Pizza with out thinking of him. It was late when we finally arrived, to my surprise it was tiny trailer in the middle of nowhere and there was no one there. The man told me everyone would be arriving the following day. We went in to the house I don’t remember how long it took but eventually he got me into the bedroom. He lured me in there by telling me that’s where the radio was. The man ended up sexually assaulting me, I will spare y’all the details. Just know it wasn’t as gruesome as it could have been. I think God spared me. After that the man took me back to my mom’s and he left. Again, God spared me because how many victims get to live?? I knocked on my mom’s door and she didn’t answer. My grandma lived down the street so I walked to her house and I went to bed. When I woke up I went back to my mom’s house locked myself in the bathroom and refused to talk to anyone until my cousin got there. Once my cousin got there I told them what happened. We went to the police and started the whole process. Come to find out my mom didn’t even know the guy he was the friend of one my aunt’s.
I went back home and I tried hard to forget that it ever happened. Probably the first time in my life I never told my dad something. I finally confessed it to my sister in law. I don’t remember if she told my dad or if the police contacted my dad but the cat was finally out of the bag. That felt like the biggest weight was lifted off me and I didn’t feel so alone anymore. There is so much more to this story but that’s for the next blog.
God was so good to me through this whole situation!! I couldn’t see it back then but when I look back on it I can see his hands of love written all over it!!

From the time I was born up until I was about 4 or 5 years old we lived in the country. By the country I mean we lived in a “holler” in West Virginia. When I was first born you had to actually go through a cow pasture to get our house 😂. In 1989 we moved out of the holler, FINALLY! I’m guessing everyone was excited I was still too young to have many memories. I do remember my mom picked out the house she wanted, my dad said they couldn’t afford it. My mom responded something like God is going to give me that house and well He did.
I wish I could tell you everything was perfect from there on out, that we all lived happily ever after but that just wasn’t the case. If I’m real honest I don’t have many happy memories of my parents being married because I feel like somehow all the bad blocked out all the good. My parents started drifting away from God, they started drinking, they started fighting and things went downhill quick. My brother who is ten years older than me was always there to make sure I was ok, my guardian angel. He became my very best friend over the years.
My parents tried hard to keep it together. They would separate and get back together. This was hard on me because I was the youngest so I got drug around like rag doll. I stayed with my mom for awhile in our house, then she took me with her to her mom’s house once (I was maybe in third grade), my mom kicked me out of my house once because I looked like my dad. It was a very unstable environment. When I finally got to live with my dad permanently things were more stable but things were still pretty crazy.
My dad did whatever he had to make sure I was taken care of. Sometimes he worked two or three jobs and even doing illegal things. He sure didn’t do things the right way but he made sure I was good. My dad taught me how to cook, he did my homework with me, he taught me how to clean house and wash clothes. During those times my dad wasn’t living right but he still told me about God. I remember him and his friend Shawn sitting and talking about the Bible for what seemed like hours.
My mom wasn’t a bad woman she just didn’t know what to do. We weren’t close when I was younger. But as I got older we got closer. She died this past year and it was the saddest day of my life so far. I finally see things from her perspective and I understand why did what she did. I’m so glad we got the chance to heal. I’m so thankful that God gave us the chance to rebuild our relationship!

This next story I have NO memory of and depending on how your beliefs may be a little controversial. If you find yourself offended then I’m sorry but this is completely the truth. My mom (rest her soul) and my dad would not lie about this. And let’s be honest what would they gain?? I mean God doesn’t need people to lie about who He is or what He is capable of doing.

So, I was maybe two or three years old. My mom had went in to make breakfast and my dad and I were playing in the bedroom. When it was time to go eat breakfast my dad sit me down off the bed, it was then that he said my legs crumbled out from underneath me like wet washcloth, and he said I yelped. My dad said he recalls thinking that may be my legs had fallen asleep not even thinking that we has been up and playing.  He took me to the kitchen and put me in the highchair. After breakfast him and mom were concerned so they tried to stand me up again but the same thing happened again. Can you imagine being a parent and your child being perfectly fine then out of blue she/he couldn’t walk?? I think I would have been freaking out but I would like to think I would handle it like my parents did.

Remember, how I told you my parents were praying parents right? Well, this time was no different. We lived fairly close to the church that my dad was the pastor of at the time. So, he told my mom to take me and pray over me(I don’t remember if she was to use anointing oil or not but I’m pretty sure she did) and he was going to the church to pray. I’m not sure if it happened immediately or if it took a little while but I started walking again. Praise the Lord! Later that evening we went to a friend’s house for dinner and I was playing with the kids like normal. Then my mom noticed that I was limping. She knew that it wasn’t right so, her and her friend took me back to the bedroom and prayed over me again! And again I was healed! Again I have never had any issues like this since!! 

I have felt that since the day I was born the devil has always been on my heels. He has always wanted to hinder or stop me from doing what God wants me to do. As you will you will see you my life hasn’t been easy but God has never left me. He has always been right there with me! I hope you continue to continue to come back to be blessed by what God has done in my life. ☺

I’ve always jokingly said that my life has been a struggle since day one. Shortly after I was born (not sure exactly sure on the time frame), I started running a fever. I was a sick a child and after many tests it turns out that one of my kidneys had a slight malfunction. This malfunction allowed what was in my bladder to flow back into my kidney which caused kidney infections! It took roughly a year for them to figure this all out. My mom and dad were Christians so I am sure they did a lot of praying as well. My dad told me they had to keep me on antibiotics for about the first three years of my life. Continuing to switch them so I wouldn’t get immune to them, and all you ladies know what comes along with antibiotics usage….YEAST INFECTION!! Tell me if that wasn’t some fun way to start my life! 😁

Seeing how both of my parents were Christians the next part hardly surprises me, especially since I know myself the way that I do! My dad says I was approximately three years old when we were all sitting at the breakfast table (Dad,Mom,Brother, and Myself). Now remember I have no memory of these things so I’m going off what my mom and dad have told me. Anyways, I declared that I wasn’t taking the medicine anymore because Jesus had healed me. Can you believe that? Well, I can because since then I have only had one kidney infection and I was like 18 or 19 when I had it! God is so good!! That’s not the only rough start I had but you will have to come back to read about that😘😉.