God is Our Provider

God has proven to be our provider again and again. When my husband and I were married in December 2020, things were going well. I had a job as a principal of a Christian School and God blessed Bill financially at his new local Hearing Aid office. We found a home that we both knew was specifically picked for us by God (3 minute from his office and 6 minutes from our church). It was nothing fancy. The outside and inside looked the same as the day it was built (1972)! It was paneling in EVERY room, yellowed popcorn ceilings, and old appliances or none at all. It was ugly! BUT the land was full of life! It has a running creek, and a Spring House with water coming up from the ground that feeds three ponds. Wow! Did it have running water on the land. Me, a nature lover and my husband’s desire of finding land with running water was fulfilled with this property. We knew that this property was soon to be ours. The house on the other hand was in desperate need of a makeover inside and out.

Now let me tell you a little about what happened in the midst of our remodeling project. I became very sick and weak. On April 28, 2021, I woke up with several bruises on different areas of my body. I quickly dismissed them as bumping into things while we worked at the house. However, the extreme fatigue was not as easily dismissed. The next day, I woke up to twice as many bruises all over and petechiae, which is broken capillaries, characterized by small red dots that covered both my lower legs. That morning, I didn’t have the strength to stand in the shower. My husband got up and I showed him the bruises and petechiae and he ordered me to go straight to the doctor. He went to work, and I called the doctor and thank God, they got me in at 8:30 am. I remember being so weak as I drove myself there. I explained my symptoms and the nurse practitioner looked at the bruising and petechiae. She ordered blood tests. I passed out while the nurse was drawing my blood. I laid down there for 30 minutes or so and got up to try to get myself in my car to drive home. I remember reaching for the car door handle to close my door and it being so painful. The world I knew of newly wed bliss and remodeling our home was coming to a screeching halt! Nothing else mattered but crying out to God to give me strength and give us both direction. My husband came home about 20 minutes after I arrived back home to inform me that there were critical levels in my blood work and that we needed to go to the Emergency Room right away. I tried to tell him that if I just could get some rest that I would be fine. He asked me where my suitcase was, and he went to pack it for me. At that moment, I knew it was serious, however, I never thought I would get the diagnosis of cancer. Our local hospital tried to treat me, but my body would have a reaction to the platelets (mine were at 11 platelets and normal is 1,500 to 4,500). That explained the extreme fatigue. The doctors also gave me blood and tried to get my white blood cell count down and my hemoglobin up. But everything they did to treat my symptoms sent me backwards. The doctors began searching to find me a bed at a hospital that specializes in blood cancers. I was transferred to Huntsville Hospital on May 2, 2021. As soon as they wheeled me in a room, my body again went into shock. My heart and lungs were shutting down because my blood was not producing enough oxygen to sustain life. BUT thank you God that I arrived in time for a team of specialists to treat me! My husband of 4 months was faced with making a decision that no one ever wants to make. The doctor told my husband that in order to save my life, he needed to put me on a ventilator and intubate me. My husband asked for 5 minutes to pray and call our pastor to pray. Our pastor agreed and heard from God that Bill should do whatever it took to save my life. May 2, I was placed in a medically induced coma on a ventilator, intubated, and on a feeding tube. I know it was horrifying for my children, my family, and my husband to see me in that state. BUT God used this to not only save my life but to speak to me spirit-to-spirit. The realm that I was in was so peaceful! I saw angels hovering all around my body and a brilliant white light was hovering over my body from head to toe! My spirit was speaking directly to God! I asked God, “Where am I? Am I in Heaven?” God said, “No, you have more assignments on earth.” I said, “Then why are there angels all around me?” God said, “The prayers of the saints brought the angels to administer quick healing to you.” I then asked, “God please tell my husband and my daughter!” God said, “You and your husband are one flesh, so as I’m telling you, he is receiving revelation of your healing and that you will recover.” As for your daughter, her prayers will be answered because you will be able to breathe on your own and come out of the coma and off the ventilator before Mother’s Day. Every word God spoke to me was fulfilled. His Word does not return void Isaiah 55:11)! However, it is up to us to believe Him and NOT walk in fear. That “perfect peace” stayed with me and my husband throughout my hospital stay and 7-month journey to complete healing! I defied the odds in every way! I gained all my weight back. We prayed daily against the side effects that chemo treatments sometimes cause, and God was faithful to answer our prayers! Today, I continue to claim and walk in my healing! The medical field calls it total remission, but that would suggest that it might come back. I believe that I am healed today and forever! The stripes that Jesus took on his back to purchase mine and your healing will NEVER lose their POWER! I refuse to walk in fear of what might happen or give any of my valuable time to the enemy!

On our honeymoon, and it just so happened to be on my birthday too, we received a call from our realtor saying that our offer was accepted on this property! We both were thrilled and excited to get back home to plan out this massive undertaking. We were blessed that my husband’s best friend, Mack Dean, owns a painting company. We hired them right away to evaluate the best way to transform a LOT of paneled walls into brighter and updated walls. They also scrapped all the ceilings and repainted them. Just remodeling the ceilings made a major improvement. Next, the painters used 30 five-gallon buckets of spackling mud to fill in all the paneling groves, sand, and repeat as many times as it required to create a smooth sheetrock look. I was in total amazement! Everyone that visits us cannot believe that there is ugly paneling underneath. As we revisited our list of things that must get completed before we moved in, we realized that our list was longer than our budget. We cashed out a couple IRAs to complete the work. We discovered that if we cashed these out for needed home improvements, then we would avoid added penalties. We both agreed that this was a better approach than taking out a second mortgage. God provided the best and most trustworthy people to do jobs like kitchen cabinets (Shoals Cabinets), and floors and tile work (Bubba Letson), electrical work (Jerry Page), and lastly David Staggs and Zondra Kelly did a total bathroom remodel! What they did to bless us in a desperate time of need blew us away! I will talk more about that later in this blog.

I want to give you some scriptures about how God will provide for you when you trust him completely. Matthew 6:34, “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Words of Jesus). Luke 12:22-24, “Then turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life-whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds!” Bill and I learned that worrying about our house that we so desperately wanted to finish remodeling, was not as important as my health. My health crisis brought about a level of faith and trust in us that all believers need to have all of the time. God knows our needs, so when we trust that HE will provide those needs, it is freeing! Bill and I are independent people. We have learned to work hard and provide for ourselves. However, God sent us loving people from our church family and friends in the construction/remodeling business to bless us beyond measure! I am in complete awe at how much GOD wants to bless and provide for His children. He loves us more than our human minds can comprehend. Romans 8:38, “And I am convinced that nothing can EVER separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Now back to how God sent so many of our church family and friends to help us during this time of need. Zondra Kelly and David Staggs worked on a bathroom that was gutted and donated their time and bought materials to get it completed and it is gorgeous! We tried to pay for materials, but they insisted God put it on their hearts to help us. Jerry Page donated his time and talents to rework and repair old outlets and install beautiful, recessed lights and fixtures. Bubba Letson and his son worked at our house on weekends and after work to help us get floors and tile work completed. Shoals Cabinets helped get our cabinets installed in a timely manner so that we could get moved in by the time I was out of the hospital (move in date-June 28, 2021). Our church family came out to mop and clean up the house before we moved in. Thank you just is not enough. Bill and I love each and every one of you that helped us during our time of need. I know that God was with us through our journey. He provided us with a loving and giving church family, family, and so many praying friends!

God bless you and your family. God Speed!

LOCAL EVENTS: September 24, 2022, at 6:30pm “Fan the Flame” at Word Fellowship Church (101 County Rd. 426 Killen, AL 35645). A time of food, fellowship, worship and praise to our Mighty God!

If you would like Bill and me to speak about how God is our provider and the wonderful things HE has done in us and through us, feel free to leave a request in the comments.