My Testimony

When thinking about my personal testimony, the first thing i need to do is define what a testimony actually is. It's ironic that this question was on of the choices for a class assignment, because my church (Abundant Living Family Church in Rancho Cucamanga, CA) has just finished a series titled Storms. And what my pastor mentioned numerous times was that you have to go through storms to make you stronger. And that our storms, help us with our testimonies that we can share with others, to help anyone who is in the same situation that we are in and also help build the God's Kingdom. My storm started the summer after my Freshman year at Cal Baptist. Life was great! I was taking part in summer work outs for basketball, that would help me improve my game, i just had an amazing first year of college. I had a handsome older boyfriend who had just graduated from CBU and moving to Denver but guaranteed that we would be together forever. My family life was good my parents had been married for 26 years and seemed still happy. I had no complaints about my life at that time.
My nephew Jaylen had his 1st birthday party on June 4 and the whole time my dad was complaining about a terrible head ache, but my dad kept BBQ-ing because that was his job, he was the provider of our family. He was the Vice President at a successful business, and was the head Varsity Girls Basketball coach at my High School, and on the board at our church. My dad had coached me in basketball for years and we were extremely close, i could talk to him about anything, he was my best friend. On the seventh of June three days after my nephew's birthday party, my life and families future was changed. I had just finished a basketball workout and drove home. I was surprised to see my father in the driveway with a co-worker because he should still be at work. I ran to him confused and his co- worker explained that he had fainted and work and wasn't feeling well.
What ended up happening was my dad had a stroke. he was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance and after being in emergency the whole night the doctors said he was not going to make it. i didn't understand why God would do that to me, have me lose my father so young and miss out on our families future.
My dad made it through the night and many more and got to the point where he was going to live but be very different, but my family didn't care, we just wanted him alive. My mom blamed the stroke on herself. What she reveled to my sister and i was that before the stroke she wanted to get a divorce from my dad. He had been an alcholic for years, i had no idea of this and he was making so much money and spending even more she just couldn't take it. So she prayed to God that he restor there marriage. and God's way was slowing him down with the stroke and making there relationship stronger through that.
Another thing God did was help me understand that i need him. I would not have been able to get through any of these things if it wasn't for God. My dad was the provider and so we had no money and so many bills we had to pay. Looking to God for the answers and trusting that he had a plan for our lives is what Got me through those tough years. Believing that God can turn situations that we feel are bad into blessings!