I’m going to say my journey started last year in October. I decided to purchase a house which meant I had to relocate from Renton to Tacoma and right around the same time I was also in school. I had to step down from the Praise and Worship team and ministry to focus on school. I prayed to the Lord “I need you to help me get through this strong and once I do this I will return to Your house to worship and give You the Glory.
So the process started with the house and everything went fine. Then the day before closing I get a call and they said “you’re not closing, you’re not approved” and I just cried. I called my girlfriend who was my real estate agent, she said “the devil is a liar.” She said “that house is yours and everything was fine, I don’t know what happened but I’m going to make a phone call.” She made her call and she called me back and let’s just say the Lord worked it out and I ended up moving.
In the process the devil kept trying to attack, the car broke down, I got bronchitis and pneumonia, we were supposed to have a spare car, but the people with the spare car didn’t come so we were making trips up and down I-5 with two cars. So we got all settled in and I finished school. I graduated this June and graduated just shy of 4.0 and part of the honor society.
Remember when I prayed last year, I told the Lord that if you help me get through it then I will get back to your house and do what I’m supposed to do and step back into ministry and do the things that I was already doing. So I took a couple of weeks off to rest and then in July I started researching Churches in the area because my old Church that I was going to was in Kent. I went to a couple of Churches, I listened to a couple of sermons. Everyday because I would catch the bus to work, I’d pass by TCC so I said okay I want to know what this Church was about. I saw they had Women’s Ministry, Kids Ministry and because I have children and some of you have seen my children. We were involved in the other church the kids were in Praise and Worship and they were Praise dancers and so we were really rooted in the Church. So I knew I needed to get back.
So I came July 23rd, and I was blessed! The word he brought, I said okay this is where I’m going to go. Well, let’s just say the devil was not happy with me. That week, I had a heart attack scare, I know it was nothing but stress and everybody was “you need to go to this hospital.” They had me in the A-car, and I went to the hospital, they had me hooked and had me on everything. They were looking at me and I said “I’m fine, it’s just stress. I know what it is.” So they put me on rest, four days of rest. Then right after that, the enemy said “okay let me turn up the heat a little bit.” So I drive a Mercedes and those of you who drive Mercedes’ know they can be some very finicky cars. So my shifter decided to go out and I have an old Mercedes and those of you have one there’s a little plastic piece that renders that whole car driveless. So in the midst of me being on rest, I took my car in, I managed to jimmy rigged it so I could get it to the shop. On the way to the shop the devil was like “oh she driving.” The aromatic system went on the way to the shop but I still could drive it, so I got to the shop dropped it off, let them know what was going on and let them know about the aromatic system going out. I told let’s just focus on the shifter right now because I need to drive. I continued to drive it, then on Sunday I prayed to the Lord if you just continue to allow me to get my family to Church to praise You. I drove that car straightened sometimes with some bumps but I got it here. So the devil was not pleased with that, let’s just say he said okay “not only did I not stop her she still going and her car is still kind of jacked up.” So “okay, it’s not gonna start.” The car would not start, just for no reason, so I was like alright. I wanted to cry but I said you know what, “devil you’re a liar” I’m still gonna go. So I caught the bus, I started catching the bus to church. He said “She still going to Church giving God praise even though she’s going through all of this.” So then, I got another car about the end of August and I was fine coming to Church, no more catching the bus.
But then he was like “mm mm.” So like a month later the serpentine belt when but the Lord allowed me to drive from Renton to Federal Way. I could hear something shredding, at first I thought I had a flat tire no the car isn’t doing anything weird. Then I was like I’ll keep going, then the Lord said “no, you need to pull over.” So I got to a gas station, soon as I pulled into the gas station that car was done. I popped the hood and the serpentine belt was just hanging on by a thread. Not only did the Lord allow me to get to the gas station, where I was stopped there was restaurants, there was water, bathrooms, so it was everything I needed. I needed the part, the serpentine belt so I was okay, I don’t know where an auto part store is so I Googled, right across the street. So instead of me getting mad or upset, I just laughed. I said “okay whatever Lord whatever the reason why this happened, I’m just going to sit here, go in the store, get me something to eat, drink and sit right here. I made phone call and my mechanic came out within an hour. I was like really!
So fast forward to September 17th, Pastor preached on Praise and Trust. So I was praising and trusting and because I had that heart attack scare, I had to take the time off without pay. So they started cutting my paycheck short so it started affecting my bills. Then one of my twins came to me in the middle of that week, they’re 13 now and she said “Mom I want to fast and pray.” I had to turn around and I looked at her and I said “okay Lord, I don’t know what you’re doing.” But this was showing me that I was where I needed to be. So I explained to her what fasting and praying was and she decided to give up meat for four days and she loves meat. She even got tired and she said “Mom, you know I want to eat meat so bad.” I said “Well you know honey, if you stop the Lord is not going to be mad at you. She said “No Mom, I’m committed I said four days and I’m gonna give up meat for four days.” So she did her four days, she said she wanted to do it. So the devil didn’t like that, so he decided to attack the new car I got the transmission went.
So I’m back on the bus again, and then during all of this I was financially strapped because of the time I had to take off. So there week at the end of September where I was down to $7.28 to my name and the week before that I really didn’t have food in the house so I came down to this food bank right here by the Top of Tacoma so I just felt really low. On the 22nd it was my birthday okay Lord, the dogs need food, we need groceries, and how I’m going to make this $7.28 work? I just cried I said “I don’t have nothing to do on my birthday.” I said okay, I’m gonna just go to the dollar store and get me some dog food. I was calculating, I can get this many cans and so finally I went to check the mail. I opened my mailbox, got my mail and brought it inside. I saw that I had the envelope from my mortgage company and I was like okay “what are they sending me?” I opened and inside there was a check, not only was it a check but it was enough for me to get the dogs food, pay some small little bills and get some groceries. So I said okay, this was after Pastor had talked about 8/8, so the Lord was sending me a little bit at a time, a little bit at a time. So I was like okay Lord, I know you’re there so I kept praying and believing.
And then on October 5th, I got a phone call from my mother’s doctor, he said she has cancer and I lost my father four years to cancer. He was in the worse pain and I’m still not haven’t recovered. So I cried and I got mad and I said “Lord not today, I can’t handle this, I already got this going, you gon through this in there, mmm, no! So that next Sunday Pastor preached on Beyond Human Knowledge. So I sent him an email on the 15th and I said can you have the prayer warriors please pray for my mom. So he did that and then after that in the middle of October, I just…I had it I was like stressed, I just cried out to the Lord, that I can’t this is too much, you guys sang this song “Victory belongs to Jesus” and “I know Who I am.” The “I know Who I Am” song became my proclamation for the whole week. I got mad, I said “no devil”, you see I forgot who I was so I rolled up my sleeves and I got in his face and I said ‘NO.”
On the 20th, I decided to call my mortgage and see if I could refinance with cash out. I said okay so I’m going to pay down some bills. So they took my information called me back and say hey, I know you wanted to do a refi with cash out but this is what we can do for you. We can pay off your significant debt and give you cash back, how does that sound? I said “if you’re going to pay off my significant debt and give me cash back, I’ll take that.” I was happy with that. After that the mortgage company called me back, everything was going through and then they called me and said “we’re looking at your loan and you’re actually going to get more cash back then we expected so I was like “Okay Lord, I’m not going to turn that down.”
Going back to that next Sunday, Pastor was preaching on “Beyond Human Knowledge.: So that next Sunday he was preaching on “Unfinished Business” Faith give God thanks and praise through your pain. So on November 7th, I got a phone call as we had gone to my mom’s appointments and after reviewing the cat scans they couldn’t find any cancer. So blessed, I said Thank you Lord! Amen
So the devil didn’t like all of that at all so he tried to attack the refi. So, I again wanted to give up and I was mad. I called my girlfriend my real estate agent, I told her what was going on she made me to put my big girl panties on, she said that’s not what you do as a daughter of the Lord. You stand your ground and you fight. I said “okay” I sucked it up and went about my business. Pastor preached on the 12th Sunday “Unfinished Business” you’ve got to trust in the Word within His hidden wisdom blessings, breakthrough happen. So I’m here to tell you that my loan closed this past Tuesday, my significant debt has been paid off and I just wanted to say if anyone here is struggling “Don’t give up” Do not give up! God will do it for you too.
I just want to say Pastor, when I come to churches, I check out the spirits and when I walked into TCC I have never experienced such love and embracing not only for me but for my kids, it was like we had been here forever. So I just encourage the congregation to keep doing what you’re doing, keep showing love, and keep showing encouragement because you just never know who is walking through those doors.