For those that don't know, this is my birthday month! January 20th to be exact! I'll be 43 years old. Wow how time flies. I was recently looking through my photos and as I sifted through the years, I was reminded of how good God truly is. I ran across photos of my Husband and I when we first met when I was 19 and then ones of me when we separated. Video's of all my children at different stages of their lives including the Facetime screenshots because they moved far away. I was reminded of a time when I got baptized along with pics where I was ok with drinking and smoking and dressing and dancing provocatively. Then I saw pictures of when I was suffering with a diagnosis, extremely ill and thin. I then saw pictures of the day my Son Jayden's died in my arms... I'm not here saying the battles I've faced weren't hard and didn't leave scars... they definitely did. I'm not implying that those same tests and trials don't have a part in who I am becoming, they do. My testimony is about how in spite of it all, God still found a way to use those same horrible moments and bad choices for my good. He allowed it to build my character, grow my patience and reveal Himself in me. He showed me that no weapon that was formed prospered, that He won't put more on me than I can bare and that He will finish what He started. It's also to show us that He is always in control, no matter what it looks like. My Husband and I did separate for a time but God quickened the dry bones of our marriage and restored it. Yes its difficult to see your kids leave the nest but its worth it to witness the seeds you sowed in them sprout as they rear their own children. I'm grateful that although I backslid, God was their with open arms as His prodigal daughter ran back into them. The Dr.'s gave me a bad report and a death sentence, The Great Physician said different and delivered and healed me! I may have lost my Son, but I have irreplaceable memories of his contagious smile to share with the daughter I didn't think I'd be able to have.