I was never supposed to be here — at least not according to the doctors.
But God had already written a different story over my life.
Before anyone knew I existed, my mother was scheduled for a hysterectomy because doctors believed she had cancer. But hidden beneath all the fear and uncertainty, God was forming me in her womb. When they discovered, she was already five months pregnant, everything changed. The surgery stopped, and God’s plan continued.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I set you apart.” — Jeremiah 1:5
A month later, my mother was in a car wreck. She hit the steering wheel with her stomach, and for three days the doctors could not find my heartbeat. They told her it was over. They told her to let them remove me. But my mother prayed. She said, “Wait a little longer.” And God honored her faith.
“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” — Psalm 30:5
Against every expectation, my heartbeat returned.
I was born full term but in distress — with a small hole in my stomach and my organs in a sac. In rural Mississippi, far from hospitals and specialists, a grandfather stepped in and patched the defect with steady hands, a half‑dollar, and the grace of God. No scar. Just mercy.
In those early months, medical care was scarce, money was scarce, and understanding was limited.
A local doctor prescribed coffee for my asthma and whiskey for my stomach pain — remedies that could have harmed me. But even then, God’s hand shielded me. What should have made me weaker only proved His strength.
“He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge.” — Psalm 91:4
My early years were marked by challenges: late walking, late talking, asthma from infancy, stomach migraines, head migraines, weak ankles, popping hips, and long hospital stays. My body remembered the fight I had survived before birth. But every struggle became another reminder that God had preserved me for a purpose.
“The Lord will perfect that which concerns me.” — Psalm 138:8
Even when my lungs were weak, God breathed for me.
Even when my joints were fragile, God carried me.
Even when my development was delayed, God was not late.
Even when the world said “she won’t make it,” God said “Live.”
“I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” — Psalm 118:17
I am here because God heard a mother’s prayer.
I am here because God protected me when medicine could not.
I am here because purpose was written over my life before anyone knew I existed.
I am here because God’s hand was on me from the beginning.
“For You are my hope, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth.
By You I have been upheld from birth.” — Psalm 71:5–6
My life is proof that prayer still works, miracles still happen, and God still writes stories the world cannot explain.
And I will spend the rest of my days declaring His goodness.
