What Is Your Story?

Key Verse

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

I recently had to look through some photos for a news interview I was preparing for. Some of you know I lost my mother in 2018 suddenly due to a heart attack. It has been the most traumatic experience of my life. I actually found her.

A few days before she passed, we talked briefly and the day I was going to pick her up to go to the gym, she didn’t answer her phone. I knew in my spirit something was wrong so I drove to her house to check on her. That’s when I discovered her, alone in her home.

Months and years after this tragedy I have more clarity on my life, my purpose, and my future than ever before. My mom instilled so many powerful values in me. She was a giver, she loved taking care of people, she was a fighter and she was brilliant. However, the biggest lesson she taught me was in her death.

I know God is sovereign but my mind can’t help but wonder if she died before she experienced all of the amazing things God had in store for her. She was only 73 when she passed. I had a strange and unexpected awakening after she died. Life & TIME became more precious than ever before.

These last two years I have been laser focused on my purpose in God. What has He called me to do? What is my story and how often can I share it as a testimony for His glory! I don’t have the full picture yet, but I am in hot pursuit of the plans He has for me. Now everyday I wake up knowing that what I do with my day could have world changing impact.

My mom was such a special woman full of purpose. Her own story of survival was powerful. She prayed for a child and decided to adopt me when I was only a few months old. She went through the long process of gaining approval from the government to adopt. She waited hoping to receive a letter of approval. Then she and my dad had to fly to Bogota, Colombia just to see which child would be available. My dad wanted a boy. My mom had secretly been praying for a girl. When they finally arrived at the orphanage, to their surprise I was the only baby of that age available for adoption. There were no baby boys. My mom told me the story many times: when they brought me out she knew I was her baby.

I’m writing this with tears in my eyes. She, being in her purpose, shaped my story. The love she poured into me is still felt today. Thank you mom: your love set me on this path toward purpose. Thank you for helping shape my story.