God Turned My Suffering into Joy

While we all have tribulations, we serve a God who will help us overcome them all.

February 2013 changed my life. I woke up one morning to discover numbness and tingling in my legs. The sensations felt odd and painful. My feet were cold, my legs trembled as I walked, and pain attacked with each movement. Right away I went to my doctor, but my body did not respond well to the treatment.

As I lay in my bed and rested, I was absolutely terrified. Not only did I have problems in my legs and back, but my speech was slurred and my head throbbed. My throat hurt, and a fog of confusion covered my brain. My words would not come out right and my body hurt all over.

One night, during the worst of it, I begged God to give me the strength to continue serving Him. Regardless of my condition or suffering, I wanted to use it for His honor and glory. At this same time, my son was being bullied and I was trying to figure out how to help him through it. As I cried myself to sleep numerous nights, a little story filled my heart. Instead of focusing on my suffering, I focused on Zippy and how he could make a difference in the world.

As God inspired me to write about Zippy, I used the words in the book to help my son. And I remembered how it felt to be bullied myself— the times as a child that I prayed and asked God to send someone to help me. Sometimes all we need is hope. It makes a difference to our hearts to know that someone else has walked in our shoes and overcame the hardships.

Right before Zippy’s Club came out, my hopes and dreams were threatened. A doctor declared that I was disabled and urged me to sign up for a disability check. God, however, gave me hope that I would get better. He gave me scriptures and strength to keep trying, and a plan to make it happen. Instead of disability, I signed up for the gym, went on a gluten/dairy free diet, and focused on being well.

Now I smile as I reflect on that time in my life. The enemy will steal our dreams if we allow it. Because I didn’t give up, Zippy’s Club was turned into a play, Zippy has his own theme song, and this February my book was nominated for the 2015 Christian Small Publishers Association Book of the Year Award. And I have a new book coming out "Despite Your Circumstances", about my hardships and how God helped me overcome them all, to encourage others. God always turns my heartaches into blessings. 

My God is so good to me! He knew all of the good things He had planned for me and my life. And yet He gave me a choice. He let me decide if I wanted to give up or keep trying. Most often times we give up, when the blessing is right around the corner.

Whatever your struggle or heartache, don’t give up on yourself or God. This is your life! Don’t let the devil steal your joy. God has good things for us all, if only we learn to endure and embrace the hardships without giving up.

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