Stories
Finding Hope in the Midst of a Child’s Mental Illness
My daughter Cheryl began dealing with depression shortly after getting married. It worsened with her first pregnancy and unfortunately, it didn’t go away after. For the next 10 years she sought help by researching and putting into practice many of the things she read....
My Transparent Journey from Prostitute to Prison Wife…to Now
Hello, my name is Tiana Swank. Without the atonement of Jesus Christ in my life, I could be known as an ex-prostitute, a recovering substance abuser, a sexual abuse victim, and a prison wife. But, by and through His grace, I am known as a child of God, and that far...
My Kids Needed Something Different – Something Crazy, Something Big
God's perfect plan of happiness for our family includes my teenagers! “You are ruining my life,” she shouted as she slammed the door behind her. Now both my teenager daughters hated me. The one because I was taking her away from all her friends, and the other because...
Heavenly Father Wanted Something More for Me
About seven years ago, I went to Kenya and fell in love with Africa. I knew I had to go back and I remember the moment I decided that. I made plans to graduate early so that I could take an internship for a microfinance company in Kenya. I was so excited about it and...
One Person Believing in You is Enough
Everyone has a dream. Everyone has something that they hope for and work towards. Everyone at one time or another has had something they yearned and wished for. I know I have! But I've also become discouraged, impatient, and lost sight while working towards a dream....
CANCER Chose Me….Why Cancer Isn’t Always a Death Sentence
I reside in the small town of McDonough, just a few miles south of Atlanta in Georgia. I am a proud grandfather of four. I live with my grandchildren and five chihuahua rescues who have space to roam and frolic. All perfectly idyllic, well wait not exactly. It was...
She Was Told to Leave Her Son to Die, but She Refused
Let me tell you about one of the most incredible mothers I have ever met. She is beautiful inside and out, she radiates a spirit of service. This is just a small part of Fatima's story. Her son has Treacher-Collin's Syndrome. His ears are fused shut, his eyes cannot...
Complete Surrender in the Midst of Adoption
Complete Surrender……….this is where I am living right now. Complete surrender to my Lord’s will, His purpose, and His plan in this journey we are on. Oh, but it is such a hard place to stay for those of us that like to take control and “make things happen.” I am a...
I Thought I was Going to Change Lives
Every doctor has something that got them through medical school. A particular goal, desire, or aspiration from which they drew strength as they sludge through their academic beating. For some, it was the life long pressure to take over a father's thriving practice....
My Children Weren’t “Just Miscarriages”
“How many children do you have (if any)?” I stared at the questionnaire as my husband wrote “none”. We glanced sadly at each other before finishing the remainder of the form. How are we supposed to answer that? Guilt overwhelmed me as that single, awful word “none”...
The Heartbreak of Multiple Miscarriages
I have had three miscarriages in two years. Technically four, if you count the twins. The feeling of losing babies that you wanted and loved the second you knew they were there or even before is heartbreaking. It is all consuming. It kept me from seeing my living...
Behind The Smile Of A Grieving Mother
You see me and I smile. You ask me how I am and I put on a brave face and tell you I am well, even if I’m not. A part of me wishes that I could show you a glimpse of the pain and love I feel, just so you could understand why I will never “get over it”. You would see...
Fighting for Joy
I love being happy. I fully believe that God intends us to be happy in this life. But there have been periods in my life where happiness has not come easily. For the last decade, I have struggled with depression. Some years have been harder than others, some days...
What Would it be Like to Watch Your Child Go Blind?
This appointment is taking way too long. I don't know what possessed me to take all four children to an ophthalmologist appointment for Davis and Ashlyn that day. It was my first big trip out of the house since having Clint two months ago, and I had probably given...
There is Hope After Addiction
I'm an addict. There. I said it. I'm saying it to the world. Not only am I an addict, but I have bipolar disorder as well. Why am I telling you this? I'm telling you this to give you hope. I was once a trainwreck. I hit rock bottom. I was homeless. I was selling...
The Angel Gowns Project Turned Out to be a Healing Miracle for Me
November 19, 1994. No dash to represent the life lived. No poem to explain the pain of this deep loss. No viewing to say a final good-bye. No funeral to receive love and prayers from family and friends. No closure for this broken momma heart. On that day, November 19,...
The Story of B. – A Refugee Boy from Kenya
HEY, IM B. I grew up in a religious family. When I was a kid, I remember loving God. I would always think that I was meant for something great, some task that God would give me to do. I felt this immense presence of God, it was crazy! First, my early childhood. I was...
Sorrow That the Eye Can’t See
“ In the quiet heart is hidden, sorrow that the eye can’t see. ..” The loss of a child is one of the deep sorrows carried quietly in many hearts. When I went to the hospital to give birth to my angel baby the nurse took me by the hands and told me that from this...