As you travel this journey of life, one important thing to be involved with is Community Group. I am so blessed to be leading a single mom's community group / Bible Study at our church on Thursday nights. The picture is a baby shower that the group gave to one of our newest ladies. There are so many bumps and curves and pot-holes on this road in our journey of life, that it is so refreshing to share it with such a great group of ladies. I am blessed to be leading this group and watching how God supplies their needs (and even their desires).
Read the following testimony....
I wanted to share with you my storm story so that you could share to others that are going through one of there own. I do not do well speaking in front of others so I ask if you could speak on my behalf and share this with our church members.
If you can recall my storm started right about in December of last year when I emailed you asking for your prayers in regards to a relationship I was in that had turned violent and I was in fear for my life and my children lives. You referred me to Pastor Brown, let me say that I am forever grateful to you for bringing him into our lives and forever grateful to the church for all that was done for my family and me since December of last year.
I have never felt so loved and cared for by a church like I have with yours. Well back to my story…
After I was a victim of domestic abuse, I did not know where to turn I was in fear for my life and my kids. It took me 3 months after the first attack to finally get rid of this person from out of our lives, but I did not do it alone, I had Pastor Brown behind me 100% encouraging me and I had the Lord on my side.
In the mist of this thunderstorm, On March 6th, 2008, I lost my Job of 7 years, I felt lost, and I kept saying why??? Why now?? I cannot handle all of this, I was in the process of getting a restraining order to rid this man out of our lives and now I loose my Job?? What have I done to deserve this? Was my question to the Lord….I was dumbfounded, lost my thoughts, I was going in all directions and I felt like I was in a twister of a storm, not knowing where to turn or go….I felt like the carpet had just been pulled from up under my feet and all the stability that I had work so hard for was taken away from me in seconds! But never feared I had Pastor Brown right behind me and guiding me and praying with me and letting me know that there is a reason for everything that happens in our lives and that God is in control, not us….
Well, one week after I lost my Job, on Good Friday if I recall correctly, a very dear man who I called my father was diagnosed with cancer, three tumors in the Brain and it metastasized from the Lungs. Right there I finally lost it!!! I kept asking LORD why! Pastor Brown was with me and he suggested that I should come one Thursday night to meet Debby Brown, (his wife) that she has a single mother’s group that she holds every Thursday night at the Pines Campus. Well I came and since then I have not stopped coming. That group was a huge blessing for me and they were there for me, they shared tears, laughter and supported me through my ordeal.
In the first week of April I was granted a restraining order for this individual that brought me so much agony. Would you know that not only were my friends and family there in the court house to support me, but Pastor Brown and my father who was just release from the hospital early that week was right there too. I am forever grateful for there support and the church will always be a part of our lives. Not only was he a great support but my family and I never went hungry and the Church was there to help in whatever we needed.
Now since I was without a job I was able to take dad to his medical visit’s and help my mom in whatever they needed, while the other siblings had to work, which was natural. I told my brother and sister that I will do it and that I would be honored in helping my father fight this horrible disease. I can tell you that I interviewed and applied in over 30 jobs or more and dad was wanting to me to find a job and not worry about him and I told him he was more important than a job at this moment and I prayed with my community sisters to have God lead me in the direction of a good job when it was time for me to have one…..I found a job on June 9th that offered a higher pay than my last job and less than 2 miles from my home.… J
Dad was very happy for me…….., but then he died 4 days after……..he only lasted 2 ½ months, he died June 13th, of this year…..and it was not until a few day’s after his funeral that I realized what GOD did……he took me away from my stability ( one week before dad was diagnosed) and created a storm for me, but he had a reason and outcome at the end of this storm for me….even though I went through horrible times, I was the chosen one to help dad through his fight with his disease and his Journey to be with the Lord. And before the Lord took him from us, (1 week before he died I found a job) the Lord found me a job and let my dad rejoice that I would be ok now, and gave him the peace that we will be good now, and then he went to be with the Lord only 4 days later after I found employment…….So yes did I go through a storm…most definitely, but the clouds have opened up an now we are recovering and moving on. Thanks be to GOD, Pastor Brown and most of all OASIS CHURCH that they were and still are with me and have never really left me……..
The single mom’s group was there for me every Thursday praying and giving me support. I love those girls and we have a great team and I hope that more single moms would come join us. We really have a great time, through good or bad we are there for one another. So please consider joining a group, the journey is great and you get a lot back in return and you can actually mature more in the word of the LORD…there is always room to grow….we never stop learning in our lives…and GOD has a plan for each and every one of us….but it is up to us… as Christians to listen to what he is telling us and follow his steps….
I now volunteer for the church on Sunday’s and I enjoy every moment of it….I owe so much and this is one way that I feel that I can give back to church, for which I call my family…..I also do it in memory of a wonderful man….my father….God bless…. Katie
If you can recall my storm started right about in December of last year when I emailed you asking for your prayers in regards to a relationship I was in that had turned violent and I was in fear for my life and my children lives. You referred me to Pastor Brown, let me say that I am forever grateful to you for bringing him into our lives and forever grateful to the church for all that was done for my family and me since December of last year.
I have never felt so loved and cared for by a church like I have with yours. Well back to my story…
After I was a victim of domestic abuse, I did not know where to turn I was in fear for my life and my kids. It took me 3 months after the first attack to finally get rid of this person from out of our lives, but I did not do it alone, I had Pastor Brown behind me 100% encouraging me and I had the Lord on my side.
In the mist of this thunderstorm, On March 6th, 2008, I lost my Job of 7 years, I felt lost, and I kept saying why??? Why now?? I cannot handle all of this, I was in the process of getting a restraining order to rid this man out of our lives and now I loose my Job?? What have I done to deserve this? Was my question to the Lord….I was dumbfounded, lost my thoughts, I was going in all directions and I felt like I was in a twister of a storm, not knowing where to turn or go….I felt like the carpet had just been pulled from up under my feet and all the stability that I had work so hard for was taken away from me in seconds! But never feared I had Pastor Brown right behind me and guiding me and praying with me and letting me know that there is a reason for everything that happens in our lives and that God is in control, not us….
Well, one week after I lost my Job, on Good Friday if I recall correctly, a very dear man who I called my father was diagnosed with cancer, three tumors in the Brain and it metastasized from the Lungs. Right there I finally lost it!!! I kept asking LORD why! Pastor Brown was with me and he suggested that I should come one Thursday night to meet Debby Brown, (his wife) that she has a single mother’s group that she holds every Thursday night at the Pines Campus. Well I came and since then I have not stopped coming. That group was a huge blessing for me and they were there for me, they shared tears, laughter and supported me through my ordeal.
In the first week of April I was granted a restraining order for this individual that brought me so much agony. Would you know that not only were my friends and family there in the court house to support me, but Pastor Brown and my father who was just release from the hospital early that week was right there too. I am forever grateful for there support and the church will always be a part of our lives. Not only was he a great support but my family and I never went hungry and the Church was there to help in whatever we needed.
Now since I was without a job I was able to take dad to his medical visit’s and help my mom in whatever they needed, while the other siblings had to work, which was natural. I told my brother and sister that I will do it and that I would be honored in helping my father fight this horrible disease. I can tell you that I interviewed and applied in over 30 jobs or more and dad was wanting to me to find a job and not worry about him and I told him he was more important than a job at this moment and I prayed with my community sisters to have God lead me in the direction of a good job when it was time for me to have one…..I found a job on June 9th that offered a higher pay than my last job and less than 2 miles from my home.… J
Dad was very happy for me…….., but then he died 4 days after……..he only lasted 2 ½ months, he died June 13th, of this year…..and it was not until a few day’s after his funeral that I realized what GOD did……he took me away from my stability ( one week before dad was diagnosed) and created a storm for me, but he had a reason and outcome at the end of this storm for me….even though I went through horrible times, I was the chosen one to help dad through his fight with his disease and his Journey to be with the Lord. And before the Lord took him from us, (1 week before he died I found a job) the Lord found me a job and let my dad rejoice that I would be ok now, and gave him the peace that we will be good now, and then he went to be with the Lord only 4 days later after I found employment…….So yes did I go through a storm…most definitely, but the clouds have opened up an now we are recovering and moving on. Thanks be to GOD, Pastor Brown and most of all OASIS CHURCH that they were and still are with me and have never really left me……..
The single mom’s group was there for me every Thursday praying and giving me support. I love those girls and we have a great team and I hope that more single moms would come join us. We really have a great time, through good or bad we are there for one another. So please consider joining a group, the journey is great and you get a lot back in return and you can actually mature more in the word of the LORD…there is always room to grow….we never stop learning in our lives…and GOD has a plan for each and every one of us….but it is up to us… as Christians to listen to what he is telling us and follow his steps….
I now volunteer for the church on Sunday’s and I enjoy every moment of it….I owe so much and this is one way that I feel that I can give back to church, for which I call my family…..I also do it in memory of a wonderful man….my father….God bless…. Katie
3 comments:
wow! thats an amazing story!
i know the story
and when i read about abuelo
i cried
but i think God took him away
to show us that we need to stand on our own two feet
Great story. Thanks for sharing it is really nice to read and also us as a reminder that he is always there no matter what
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