How I Get Through My Darkest Times

I’m often asked how I can be so happy — smiling all the time. For me, it’s simple. Through every struggle and every triumph, I have one person in my life who keeps me going.

Who’s that, you ask?

My LORD and SAVIOUR, JESUS CHRIST.

He has been with me through everything. From removing me from an unhealthy situation as a child and placing me into the right family through DCS (Department of Children Services), to every surgery I had to undergo because of the third-degree chemical burns I suffered as an infant. He carried me through my first marriage as a survivor of domestic abuse and later blessed me with the man of my dreams. He has given me more than I could ever have imagined.

Ever since that day in August of 1982, when I accepted Him into my life forever, nothing has ever been the same. Being a Christian isn’t easy by any means, but it is deeply satisfying. Knowing that those I love who have passed on before me will be in the same place as me when it’s my time — well, that is just the greatest comfort of all.

We’re all going through struggles and situations that no one else knows about. Every day is another opportunity to paint our own canvas. Some of us have the help of the Grandest Painter guiding us. Others choose to do it alone or lean on other things.

I was fortunate to grow up in a loving Christian home. Not everyone gets that start in life. Was it easy? Absolutely not. But it was worth it. It helped shape me into the woman I am today.

I struggled when other kids made fun of the way I walked and looked. Some even told me I would be better off not being around — that I was a burden to my family. But I learned that I am beautifully and wonderfully made in Christ’s image. He wasn’t the best-looking man on the planet either, yet He still loved all mankind.

So I chose not to believe the voices telling me I was a mistake. I believed that I have a purpose on this earth — to help spread God’s love.

My favorite verse — actually, my favorite chapter — is Psalm 23. You can choose to believe what the world tells you, or you can choose to believe what God tells you.

One of my favorite songs to sing in public is “Warrior Is a Child” by Twilla Paris. Listen to it the next time you’re feeling down, lost, or alone. It might remind you that you are far from that.

You can reach out to me at: agillam05@gmail.com, or through Shero Coffee Club. I’ll do my best to help you know you’re not alone in the fight of life.

I still say the same prayer every night that my grandmother taught me. I’ve taught it to my sons, and one day I’ll teach it to my granddaughters too.

Now I lay me down to sleep.

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

If I die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Guide me safely through the night,

And wake me with Thy morning light.