Success or Failure: You have a CHOICE!

For me, success is not based on who I am or on what I have but on how many people I have touched. 

Growing up all alone and without any guidance has been a hard struggle for me. Sometimes we dont understand why things happen as they do, and sometimes, I feel that I am a failure, because I havent done anything in my lifetime to leave my mark in the world, but He has given me a much greater gift: He has silently allowed me to leave my whispers of hope in the hearts of many, changing the world one heart at a time. 

The first time I gave my life to God was when I was five years old. Losing my innocence to my cousin and being sexually abused by my uncles, I wanted to die. Sitting on the roof and gazing at the stars as I lifted my head to God, I asked Him to take my life, and He did, but not in the way that I had expected. So many horrible things have happened in my life that my constant cry was to ask God to let me come to live with Him. In 1980, that wish almost came true. A truck crashed into me and I broke almost every single bone in my body. I died, but worried about my children, I asked God to bring me back. He did. My life was merely to survive, merely to exist, and the trials continued. In 1990, I lost everything I had. I took a job as a nanny and housekeeper of a two story house for only $50.00 a week, just so we would have a roof over our heads. I saved every penny I could to buy a car. I prayed to God to give me another opportunity in another town, and a job opened up for me. In 1991, I was at church at what I call an unusual service, because rarely in the Catholic church, do they ask you to come up to the altar and give your life to God. I do not know what happened to the lives of other people who were part of that service, but when I came up to the elder, my whole body trembled as I looked into his eyes and with my whole heart, I said, "Abba, accept your humble servant." I still recall how shocked he looked and how he looked around to see if other people had heard, but my prayer was not directed towards him; it was directed at God. And it was at that very moment that my world as I knew it changed. I continued and continue to have difficulties in my life, but the Lord began to send me people who were just as lost as I was and mytests turned into testimony. Sometimes, you dont know whyyou are where you are, but sometimes, your being there is because of one special person whom you need to touch.

I have so many stories to tell of the many people whom He has sent, most of whom have lost their way, but also some whom He has healed because they believed. I am not worthy to serve Him, but even when I am going through my own difficulties, I feel so blessed that He has called me by name. (Isaiah 43) Helping others is easier than helping yourself, because you center outside the Box, but I must also remember that I also need to help myself. And even when I feel that all is lost, I know that He will not abandon me, and He will not let me down. Sometimes, He is only waiting for me to ask.                   

Today, I would like to share the progress of someone whom the Lord brought into my life. She came to me because she was struggling with her weight, but her pain was so much deeper than that. Without her even realizing it, God had provided her with a very special tool: her fingers. The work of her hands stitched her tapestry of hurt into something beautiful, but doors didnt begin to open up for her until she took her life out of her drawer. Her cross-stitch works of art sat patiently in that drawer, waiting for her YES. Within a short time, she started two cross-stitch sites, and now she is teaching a class in cross-stitch at Hancock Fabrics. I am so proud of you, my friend, for deciding to say YES to your life. The Lord has added golden thread to your tapestry of life, and He will continue to reward you in ways you cannot imagine.

Incorporate golden thread into all of your new works of art, for this is a new beginning for your life. He has removed your sack cloth of sadness and clothed your life with JOY.