Anyone who knows me will probably not want to read this post as you’ve likely heard me tell this story at least once before.

It does make some people uncomfortable, and even some cry.

I will never stop sharing it, though.

Despite the pain, I'm thankful for the experience.

I would never be who I am today without it.

And I will forever praise God for letting this be part of my story.

Over the next few posts, I want to take you through a part of my life that transformed me — physically, mentally, spiritually.

I share this not for sympathy, but because I want people to know how truly amazing God is!!

This story is raw. It’s real. And it’s full of God’s mercy.

I wasn’t even supposed to be there that night…

This photo was taken just weeks before my accident. It’s a snapshot of normal life before everything shifted, and it reminds me how quickly life can change and how faith becomes our anchor in the unexpected.

This was in 2007/2008 and I had just returned in the spring from my first overseas mission trip to Asia...

I had just finished my first semester of college in my second year but I was failing. There were so many things going on in my life that semester and due to my poor academics, I received a letter from the college informing me that I would be dismissed from college. Feeling disappointed in myself for not trying harder, I felt I had let God down. Feeling insecure, I didn't tell anyone I wasn't going back to school and thus wanted to avoid the Christmas party.

I had just started a part-time job working at Sears and I was going to be working the night of the Christmas party. Even if I had wanted to go, I had no gift for the gift exchange and the party was on the other side of the city. A friend of mine said they would pick me up from work and take me there so I relented and went.

Finding a spot on the floor leaning against the sofa, feeling embarrassed yet again for not having a gift to exchange, I was told they put in a few extra gifts so I could participate. I watched as people opened their funny gifts, one person had a blow up backpack with scriptures and another a golden toilet seat.

That gift exchange was the last memory I have of that night. I had no idea that night, that 6 weeks later would be the next thing I remember. I had woken up in a hospital bed, the room dimly lit since it was evening and my vision blurred. I had been in a tobogganing accident that left me with a traumatic brain injury and temporary paralysis.

*The pages here are factual, clinical, and cold, but they document a turning point in my life — a battle I had to face day by day.*

I opened my eyes in a hospital bed, the evening gloom blurring my vision.

I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t move my body or see clearly but I thought that perhaps God was punishing me and I was getting what I deserved. But the truth is God was answering my desperate prayer for a second chance – just not in the way I expected.

#YourStoryMatters #TBIRecovery #FaithThroughTheHard #HealingInProgress #GodAnsweredDifferently #RedemptionStory #SecondChances #ButGod #VelvetRoseStories #RealFaithRealLife #ThisIsMyTestimony

I Will Never Look at Life the Same

When God Steps in Our Story