Psalm 118:17 “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.”
God has said in His Word several times that we are to share our testimonies with others. We are to praise Him for what He has done in our lives. We are to tell others of the goodness and grace of God. We all have something to share. We tend to hide the struggles and the less than perfect parts. We don’t want others to know our struggles. It is easy to praise God when things are going well, most of us are very good at that. But knowing what God can do in the valley may be the very thing someone else needs. They need to know that God sees their struggle and can deliver them, just like He delivered you. Your testimony may give someone else the courage to keep going.
So I would like to share my testimony with you.
I do not condone sin. I am not glorying in my choices. I am glorying in a great and wonderful God who protected and provided. So I hope you’ll stay through the entire story, and come to the same conclusion that I have: God is so good!
I was not raised in a Christian home. I knew of and had heard of God here and there. Often it was hearing His name being used in vain. I attended public school. We didn’t have a lot of money, but I do not remember being openly bullied or made fun of for my clothes, the cars my parents had, or the places we lived. (That is a miracle in itself! Kids can be so mean!)
When I was in elementary school, somewhere between third and fifth grade, I remember sitting in the cafeteria before school one morning and a friend had shared the Gospel with me. She told me that Heaven and Hell were both real, and if I didn’t trust the Lord, I’d go to Hell forever. That terrified me. I remember that she prayed with me, but I don’t remember the prayer, or how much I really understood about Calvary and being my way to Heaven. I don’t even remember the girl that shared this with me. For years I had forgotten about this experience altogether. So I am not sure if I was saved then or not, so I use the date that I do remember as my spiritual birthday.
Middle school was normal for me I guess. I’d met the man that is now my husband when I was in sixth grade. He was just a family friend. No big deal. Or so I thought.
My mom decided she’d like to start going to church with my sister and I. She asked him if he knew of any good churches in the area. He told her about the church he went to as a kid, and Mom took us there for awhile. One Saturday morning, workers were out doing their normal visitation, and there was a knock on the door. A man named Bro. Jesse Wood thanked us for visiting, and asked if we had been saved. Mom, my little sister, and I all said no. He took the time to open the Bible, explain the Gospel clearly, and led us in prayer to accept salvation. I was thirteen I believe. A few weeks later, we were baptized together at the church. Not long after that, we stopped going. I was saved and baptized, but I didn’t grow spiritually for many years.
My future husband stayed a family friend for years. We never lost contact, he was just always there. My ninth grade year our friendship had grown into a relationship that no one else knew about. Why did we keep this a secret? Are you sitting down? Remember when I said I hoped you’d stay with me through this whole story? Here’s part of the reason. He is nine years older than me. I know. We probably shouldn’t have had the time and opportunities we had to form such a close friendship and relationship, but we did. I can almost see the shock on your face 😉. It gets better. Just hang on.
Tenth grade comes around. Our relationship is still growing and going well. We spend as much time together as possible. Shortly into the school year, mid-August, we have a positive pregnancy test. I’m fifteen. He’s twenty-four. And the secret is out. My parents were more surprised than angry. My dad was a truck driver at this point, and wasn’t home when we took the test. After he came home, there was a conversation to be had. Without a single hint of fear or doubt, he tells my dad he wants to marry me. He has no intentions of leaving me or the baby. I already knew that. But that wasn’t a decision we could just make. There’s laws about this kind of thing.
My parents agree we can get married. Now, let’s pause here. Remember, I’ve known him since I was eleven. He’d been a family friend, worked with my dad, and spent TONS of time over the years at our house and with my family. My parents knew him. They wouldn’t just marry me off to anyone.
Anyway, those laws I mentioned? They made getting married quite a task. Our state wouldn’t allow it, and most other states were in agreement. We did have to travel out of state to get married. Our wedding wasn’t preplanned, it wasn’t pretty, but it was official, and our vows were made to each other and to the Lord in His House on September 29, 2008.
I moved in with him and life went on.
December came around and what I thought would be a routine appointment to check on the baby ended up telling us news that I would go into preterm labor and I was now on bed rest.
December 30, I go into labor that can’t be stopped and our baby boy is born at twenty-six weeks gestation. Two months and twenty-five days later, he came home perfectly healthy. This was by far the scariest thing I’d ever been through. After I had our son, I was on medical homebound the rest of my tenth grade year. This allowed me to go to the hospital and be with my baby as much as I wanted or needed to, while being able to keep up my grades.
Are you seeing God’s goodness, protection, and provision yet?
I finished that school year and enjoyed the summer at home being a mom and wife. August came all too quickly and I had to start my junior year. Leaving my baby again, was very very hard. By God’s grace, I had a wonderful guidance counselor. Ms. Lynn did all she could and more to advocate for me to the school board. Because of her love and patience, my schedule got changed around and I was able to complete all of my core classes that semester to meet the requirements for graduation. December 18, 2009 I received my diploma. At this point I was sixteen, we had been married fourteen and a half months and my baby was almost one.
Two months later, in February 2010, we packed up everything we had and moved 12 hours away. God provided so much for us. Safety moving, a home, jobs, and experiences to last a lifetime. Seven months later in September we moved back home. I was homesick. Again, God provided as we got back and got settled. My husband had a job waiting when we moved and again when we came back.
We had times of financial struggles, cars breaking down, times when we didn’t go to church like we should have, and yet, for some reason, God still chose to be so good to us and provide every step of the way. We started going back to the same church that he went to as a child and where I was saved. That’s still our home church today.
August of 2011 I began college to become an EMT. My baby was 3 at this time and going to early head start. This allowed me to take classes while he was in school. I was sure I was in God’s will. My grades reflected that. He was there every step of the way. However, after graduation and state certification, I never got a job as an EMT. I still remember praying on my way to an interview, asking God for His will. This was my dream job in the county I wanted. I was so excited. But I wanted to be surrendered to Him. I didn’t get the job. Application after application, for months, nothing happened.
Until one day at church, a man named Bro. Long came to me and said, “Mrs. Heather, are you still looking for a job?” I said, “Yes sir.” He proceeded to tell me about his wife’s health condition and needs. He needed someone to care for her in their home during the day while he worked at the office of the mission board that they were missionaries with. I was nervous as could be. But I went. I was able to stay and take care of Mrs. Long for fifteen wonderful months. In the fall of 2013, I started college to become a registered nurse, and I was able to stay working there and attend all my classes. My son was in K4 at the academy at our church. This was the biggest blessing. I had no clue how this family would impact my life.
In 2014 God called us to Colorado. He provided my husband with a wonderful job and laid everything out for us to go. Leaving the Longs was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I was heartbroken but I knew God was moving us and we had to go.
June 2014 we arrived in Colorado. My husband had a job he’d never done before. We were in a city and state we’d never been to. My husband’s cousin and her family were there, her husband was doing the same job my husband had gotten hired for. That’s all the family we had there. God gave my husband the skills and wisdom he needed for the job, he didn’t have any real training, but he became one of the best technicians they had. We found a church with a Christian school for our son to start kindergarten. I was hired to help in the preschool at the church. This led to a full time, lead teaching position of the four and five year old class, right next door to the kindergarten classroom. Remember how I had been through EMT school and some nursing school? Medical is where my heart was, not teaching. Yet, the Lord had me teaching. And I was enjoying it. A lot. Through a series of events, we left that church, the school, and my job there. It was about six or seven weeks before the end of the school year, so we decided to just finish up kindergarten at home, since kindergarten wasn’t required by the state anyway and we had purchased a full year of curriculum.
My husband and I agreed that we enjoyed doing school at home, the ease, convenience, and many other reasons that ultimately led to us choosing to homeschool. We were not sure how this would work. Going to a one income household had its challenges, but God provided.
I never ever would’ve guessed that my life would ever include homeschooling. But here we were. We had found a new home church we loved and could serve in. Fall of 2015 we began first grade. Our first full year. September 2015 we had another positive pregnancy test. After years of praying and waiting, we were finally having another baby. This pregnancy has its share of health concerns as well. I had to spend the last fifteen weeks on bed rest. In the spring of 2016 God gave us a healthy baby girl. She arrived five weeks early and she spent nine days in the hospital. Two healthy preemie babies is nothing short of God’s goodness. I would like to share something about this pregnancy before moving on.
At my first appointment I made sure to tell my doctor that my first pregnancy had some issues and when they started. He assured me that he would be keeping a close watch on things. At the twenty week anatomy scan, he had the ultrasound tech measure my cervix, and sure enough, problems were starting. We were told we were going to have a little girl, and I would be on bed rest. I had check ups at twenty-one and twenty-two weeks. At twenty-two weeks I was sent to labor and delivery because my scan showed a concern. We were seen by the high risk obstetrician that was on call. She did a procedure to place a cerclage in hopes to prevent preterm labor. After this procedure, I was complaining to the Lord about my fear of losing this baby. He spoke very clearly and said, “Haven’t I said to pray specifically?” I said, “Yes.” God replied, “Then pray specifically.” I proceeded to negotiate about how far I wanted to carry her and that I wanted to pray for full term. God told me that would not happen. He gave me peace about thirty-five weeks. So that’s what I prayed for. My water broke, also another prayer request, and my little girl arrived at thirty-five weeks and one day.
God cares about EVERY detail of your life, friend! Trust Him!
Winter 2016 God moved us back home to Tennessee. A temporary job for my husband was quickly provided. We continued to homeschool. God provided us a home to purchase. He led us back to our home church as the place He would have us to continue serving and raising our children. Fall of 2017 my husband was back in the technician line of work as an HVACR tech. I have not seen him this happy with a job in a long time. Having a boss that treats him and us, so well is amazing and we are so thankful.
Summer of 2018, the same precious lady I took care of before our move was in need of a caregiver again. I was able to be back in her home with her. All while keeping my children and homeschooling. My children built a bond with her and her husband, adopting them as grandma and papa. I never dreamed I’d be the one caring for her in her last days on this earth, but God allowed that. I was able to be there when God called her home. I can say, truly, in the sight of the Lord, precious is the death of His saints.
Present day. It’s summer 2020. We are wrapping up our fifth year of homeschool, approaching my husband’s third anniversary with his job, and our twelfth wedding anniversary.
God has been good.
I pray that if nothing else, you can also come to the conclusion that God is good, His will is perfect even if we don’t understand, and He loves you. He will make a way. He wants to lead and bless YOUR life. You are not exempt from His love and care.
Thankyou for taking the time to read my story.
With Hope in His Service,
Heather
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