My Testimony... well, part of it...

While studying for my health coach certification, I was tasked with writing my story in a thousand words or less...

There is something peaceful and soothing for me, now that I have been walking, talking, laughing and crying with my Lord and Savior these past couple of decades, and that is being able to look back over my life recognizing all the places, situations and circumstances, times, and people that God has been a constant throughout my life. Even when I didn't know I could have an intimate, personal, active, and loving relationship with my Creator, I have always believed in his existence.

I am a survivor, sometimes conqueror, but mostly I am a beloved child of God, and this is where my peace comes from--Him. Did I always get it right? Choose well? Absolutely not! All of our life experiences allow us to relate to one another, to hopefully build compassion when we see someone else going through something similar, and to care for each other. This life is not meant to be about tight self-control, (my usual MO), white-knuckling through every hill and valley to get it all right or to avoid painful and unknown circumstances (I've tried running from pain most of my life). This life is meant to be lived to its fullest, of walking hand-in-hand with our Savior and experiencing the highs, lows, and everything else in between with Him at our side.

I have been many things, done many things, seen and experienced many things. I was an only child (and sometimes) lonely child often surrounded by adults. I've been ostracized for the color of my skin, and that my mother was not married, raising me mostly on her own (we lived for several years with an aunt and uncle). I struggled in school in the early years only to discover that there are somethings I did so well in later years, I attained high grades and scholarships.

Mostly, I searched for love in places and with things that could never truly satisfy (the usual vices), and with anyone that would give me their attention. I was the "mother" in any group of friends, always asking where their hat, scarves, and mitts were, not wanting them to "catch cold."

I genuinely loved to make people laugh, often used this to deflect people from making me the brunt of the joke, and instead would laugh at myself. Today I say, "Less drama, please." I certainly was the drama queen back in the day; loud, expressive, and fidgety. (Did your parent pay you to sit still, too?)

I hungered for knowledge, loved reading (still do), even reading those encyclopedias... (remember when they sold the set door-to-door), even my mother's nursing books. I love nature and the deep, abiding beauty of the world we live in, and the intricacy of human beings.

I am a mother of two, grandmother of eight, and I met and married my second husband on the mission field while in Youth With a Mission, Barbados. To say that I have lived and am living a very rich and at times tough life is an understatement--but aren't we all?

As I have hungered to be closer and more in-tune and in sync with the Holy Spirit, God has been sharing some significant things He is encouraging me to make priority this past year.

• PRESENT -- be present in everything I do, every day.

• INTERACTIVE -- be interactive in all I do, with others, and with God.

• ACTIVATE -- I am being activated to do the work He has created and commissioned for me to do.

• GRACE -- I am to receive grace, live it, and extend it.

• LOVE, ACCEPTANCE, PURPOSE -- Receive it, live it, and give it.

• SLOW -- I am to slow down so that I don't miss anything He is saying to me or asking me to do.