Ladies'
Refresher

I am beyond blessed to have grown up in a Christian home. My sister and I were raised by loving parents who taught us about Jesus from childhood. I was saved at age 9. I suppose I was your typical teenager, getting into trouble every so often, but was pretty much a “good girl” overall.

 

I was always busy doing a multitude of activities, and that doesn’t seem to have changed much as I have gotten older. I have been accused of being the “Energizer Bunny” on more than one occasion. After college, I started my career. I got married in 1994 and had my son in 1999. Shortly after college, I got my certification as a fitness instructor and did that “on the side” until March, 2012.

 

That year, at age 40, much to my surprise, I was diagnosed with the “C” word: cancer (specifically Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma)! I think I went into shock! I didn’t know what to think, feel or focus on first. My heart and mind became overwhelmed. Be it physical, emotional, financial, spiritual, work, family, fear, doubt, confusion—you name it, I thought about it! I have said many times that if I could have turned my brain off, it would have been okay. I went from 100 miles per hour to zero in a matter of weeks, especially once I stared chemotherapy.

 

I learned many things through this valley. The scripture I clung to was Psalms 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” We live in a fallen world and we have difficulties but when you trust God and believe His promises, He will bring you through, and you too will be an overcomer! I often say that it is easier to look backward than to look forward sometimes. God never leaves you nor forsakes you (Deuteronomy 31:6). I knew what the Bible said about the power of our words before cancer. Praise God, I am healed! I definitely know the power of our words after cancer.

 

The Ladies Refresher began as a vision that God showed me many years later. I have always had a desire to help people from all walks of life, but God put women especially on my heart. We all have issues, but it is how we handle them that makes the difference. My desire is for women to “keep it real,” know the power of our words in Christ, be overcomers and have an intimate relationship with the Lord. I’m not better than anyone else, and far from perfect, but I want others to have what I have in Christ. My prayer is that others see something different in me, and when my days on Earth are done, I hope others can say, “She walked with Jesus!" Who am I? I am a Daughter of the King, and so are you!