When I first met Debby she was cheerily scooping Mac and cheese onto plates I was handing out at a community outreach. I remember the moment well because Debby has teeth. OK, most people have teeth but Debby’s teeth are beautiful, and when she smiles you see all of them. Perfectly aligned, and WHITE, and she smiles A LOT. She has a countenance that practically glows. I didn’t know it at the time, but that meeting was one of divine providence. Have you ever met someone who so clearly stands out in your mind as a marker at a crossroad in life? As we served and laughed alongside each other at the People Helping People community dinners, we became fast friends. A few months later I would hesitantly drive up her driveway, walk into a room full of women, and end up forever changed. Debby is one of those people who is a friend to everyone she meets. She knows everyone’s name, listens to them with her heart, and always follows up. You know SHE CARES. These are all things I love and admire about her, because they are qualities I don’t naturally possess, and ones that are hard to find in our hurried modern world. When I decided to move forward with this blog, and knew it would be a place to share the stories of the people I’ve met, she was on the top of my list. So, now that I’ve introduced you to Debby and her pearly whites, I’ll let her tell you the rest…

“My reverence for the Lord began when I was young. Raised predominately Catholic, I always prayed directly to the Father but I didn’t really understand where Jesus fit into the story. When I was 19 I was told that Jesus died for my sin, and that was the beginning of my turning point. As a young woman, I turned to the world and it’s pleasures to fulfill my desires, but continued to go to mass on Sunday mornings. My best friend was really struggling, so I shared with her what I had been told about Jesus dying for our sins. She began to seek Him out, met Him, and accepted Him has her savior shortly after. It was at the moment of her death that He started to reveal Himself to me. I couldn’t understand what happened, and I spiraled into a season of grief and self destruction. When I was pregnant with my son I began to see things more clearly. For the first time in a long time, I was unable to pursue alcohol and I was responsible for someone other than myself. This ultimately led to the destruction of my marriage to his father. It was then I began to earnestly seek God. A friend told me I should “give the Lord the reins to my life”. So I did, and the scales fell from my eyes. WOW. A whole new world opened up to me. I discovered that all of my earthly desires had an alternate (Christian) solution. Music, books, entertainment. I found a church and began to soak in the word. I grew, got baptized, and led a quiet content life. Deep down I longed for a true “christian family”, with a husband, kids etc. It wasn’t long before I fell into a relationship with someone who fit that part. What followed was years of heartache, failure and depression as I tried to live the life I desired. I continued seek God, to study and allow Him to develop my spiritual gifts. In 2011 my son moved away from me to begin a new life, and it shattered my already fractured heart. A few months later my step son died unexpectedly. I was immersed in a terribly lonely and grief-filled situation. In 2013 I took my first mission trip. I was scared, but also excited and I threw myself into the experience. A day after I arrived I received the horrible, and life shattering news that my brother had died of a massive heart attack. What followed was another season of extreme grief and anguish. I wondered why people were continually ripped from my life, and I couldn’t understand how I would ever experience peace and joy in any of this. I knew I had two choices. Go all in, or all out. I began to immerse myself in God, a new church, friends. One day I looked up, and my husband was gone. We no longer had the ability to find comfort in each other, and our unstable relationship completely fell apart. I’m at a place now where I choose Jesus. No matter what that means. No matter what that looks like. I want more, and I want all of Him. Even if it means being alone, separated from the world. No turning back. I am finally able to look beyond what is here, and beyond the things of the world that have let me down. I look to the future He has for me. Jesus is my rock and deliverer, my comfort, my peace, and my safe place. He has, and continues to sustain me in every season. Faithful He is, and faithful He will forever be.”

“Their circumstances will never shake them and others will never forget their example. They will not live in fear or dread of what may come, for their hearts are firm, ever secure in their faith. Steady and strong, they will not be afraid, but will calmly face their every foe until they all go down in defeat.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭112:6-8‬ ‭TPT‬‬