My once-normal life ended shortly after the birth of my youngest daughter. Already a mom to two daughters, I was excited about our growing family and couldn’t wait to meet my new bundle of joy. About a month after Janelle was born, she was diagnosed with sickle cell disease based on the preliminary screenings at… Continue reading A Healer and Provider in Desperate Times – by Sha-Ron Williams
We rushed our son Joshua to the hospital on January 11, 2019, after having what we believed to be an epileptic episode. Upon arrival, Joshua experienced another seizure, this time accompanied by a violent reaction. Speaking in a toddler’s voice, he began kicking and screaming, cursing and biting. The doctors had no choice but to… Continue reading Still Fighting for Our Son – by Francine Edwards
On a seemingly normal night in December 2012, I was home with my two sons while my husband Will was at choir rehearsal. William was five and Noah was three-and-a-half, and we were preparing for bath time. Noah wasn't feeling well and stayed in his room, which was not like him at all. The flu… Continue reading Sharing My Journey as I Stand in Faith – by Veronica Wilkinson
Shortly before Christmas in 2019, my family’s world changed forever. While home for winter break during her sophomore year at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T), I was on the sofa, looking at pictures and snuggling with my daughter Kymani. Suddenly, a scream pierced through the house. Kymani’s eyes rolled in the… Continue reading Moving Forward When Your World Feels Like It’s Stopped – by Kimberly Love Quick
Marriage and weddings have been so romanticized by culture, and I wanted it all – the marriage, the kids, and the big house. I always dreamed I’d marry someone wonderful, and we’d work as a team to meet our financial, religious, and family goals together. Unfortunately, things didn’t exactly go according to my plan. My… Continue reading God Re-Defined My Life – by Andrea Lewis
I was married shortly after becoming pregnant with my oldest child, Jordan. I thought my marriage would have lasted forever, but after almost 20 years, that marriage ended in a 20-minute court session in 2018. My marriage was full of ups and downs, just like anyone else’s. Issues would come up and would be worked… Continue reading In the Days After – by Annetta (Mia) Jones
I haven’t been back to church since the end of my marriage, although I was practically raised there. Growing up, it felt like I was there every day - and everything in our household was God-centered. We even took vacations in the summer at a Christian retreat. My life’s plan was to grow up, graduate… Continue reading From Surviving to Thriving, Only By God’s Grace – by Love Jennings-Lynch
On a Thursday during the pandemic in April 2020, I was working from home and doing what I like to call “academic management” with my two sons – one in 4th grade and the other in 5th. It had only been a few weeks since the world had shut down and everyone was trying to… Continue reading Divorce Was Not the End of My World – by Latoya Hammond
As we stood there looking at the x-ray of my spine, I saw what looked like “Jenga” in the shape of the letter S. My orthopedist sat back in silence, looking at the screen while my husband Darian and I fearfully waited for him to say something. While my husband may have been confused, I… Continue reading Chronic Pain is Not My Life Sentence – by Tamika Collick
Before I was diagnosed, I lived what most people would call a normal life. I worked full-time, was involved in all my kids' activities, attended church regularly, enjoyed date nights with my husband, drove where I needed to go, and cooked for my family – I had no idea that there would come a time… Continue reading The Wait for My Healing and Strength – by Shemeika Hudson
It all began with an accident - tripping over my husband’s crutches. An avid basketball player, my husband was healing from ACL surgery after someone fell on his knee in a game. In a month, the pain in my knee grew from aching to shooting pain. Fiercely independent, it took me a long time to… Continue reading How God Transformed My Pain Into Purpose – by Christina Clardy
Looking in the mirror, all I could focus on was my bald head. Not my eyes, my smile, or any of the other physical features I was blessed with. As much as I tried, I could not pull my eyes away from the place where my hair had once been. Pain stabbed my heart and… Continue reading Losing My Hair, But Finding My Purpose – by Tabitha Williams
While working a full-time job that I loved at the Franklin Institute, my life was interrupted in 2001 as I unexpectedly became a mom. After my son Walker’s biological mother, who was my cousin, passed away, his aunt started caring for him. After she also passed away, Walker came to live with me at age… Continue reading God Provides for Me as I Provide Care for My Family – by Bonita Bell
The feeling of her gentle hand on my left elbow as she said, “We are holding out hope” will never leave my memory. What did that mean? Was I about to become a widow raising three daughters on my own? What was “their hope?” Was it the same as my hope? It was the day… Continue reading Only By His Grace – by Danielle Carruth
My husband Wendell and I met in church. I enjoyed my career in the field of my degree, and God blessed my husband with acceptance into the Carpenter's Union after 3 tries. After being told I would never carry a baby to term, God supernaturally blessed us with a son and a daughter. We vacationed… Continue reading Through It All, We Are Still Blessed – by Diahanne Harmon
My father was my biggest teacher on how to care for my mother. He taught us to always respect her and ensure she had what she needed – we couldn’t talk back or disrespect her, or he would deal harshly with us. Growing up, I went on occasion when my mom took us, but I… Continue reading Caring for My Mother and Sister, Only Through God’s Strength – by Victoria Ballance
I met my husband Larry in college, while we were both counselors at a summer youth program. Larry attended the University of Delaware, and I attended Lincoln University down the road. After clicking instantly, we became friends and seven years later we were married. Shortly afterward, we moved to Ohio for Larry’s job. Even though… Continue reading Learning to Trust God, Even When I Don’t Understand – by Natasha McSeed
My story consists of having not just one, but two children born with congenital conditions. “Congenital” is of or relating to a condition present at birth, whether inherited or caused by the environment, especially in the uterine environment. My daughters were born sixteen years apart, both premature. My oldest daughter Faith was born four weeks… Continue reading Having Faith in God’s Timing – by Tameka Roebuck
Imagine knowing from the time you were a little girl that you would have a child with special needs. You would have thought I would have been more prepared when KJ arrived. I always wanted to have a son, so I was elated when I heard those three words during my sonogram, “It’s a boy!”… Continue reading The Healing I Needed for My Journey – by Tiffany Scurry
I came into the world dead. Born prematurely via an emergency C-section/caesarean, I weighed 1 pound and wore Cabbage Patch Kids doll clothes to fit my tiny body. Confined to the neonatal intensive care unit for four months, I was diagnosed with Holt-Oram Syndrome, a genetic condition that is associated with a mutation in the… Continue reading From Brokenness to True Beauty- by Amanda C. Clark
The road to a gold medal isn’t as glamorous as one may think. There are so many challenges, obstacles, and huge hurdles to overcome. I know this all too well being the parent of a two-time Olympian, who won a gold medal in Rio 2016 and a silver medal in Tokyo 2020. The long, hard… Continue reading There’s No Plan B When Standing in Faith – by Pastor Monica Gardner
Saadiq Yusef Wicks. I call him FACE because during his basketball career and even now if given a proper warm-up, focus, and opportunity, he will pull up with the prettiest outside shot…nothing but net. It was always beautiful to watch. On occasion, I actually miss shuffling him back and forth to basketball practices and the… Continue reading Thankfulness Amid Life’s Uncertainty – by Kimberly Garvin
From the start, football was a big part of my family. My husband Matthew played in youth leagues, high school, and received a scholarship to play at Fayetteville State University. Matt shared his love for the sport with our daughter Jenia and our son JaJuan, who became Pittsburgh Steelers fans, just like their father. Matt… Continue reading The Blessing of Never Giving Up – by Shemeika Hudson
“Excuse me but I think your daughter is hurt.” My eyes looked up from the book I was reading, across the field to the opposite side of the track where the long jump pit was located. It was an absolutely beautiful day, with the sun shining brightly and only a few clouds in the sky.… Continue reading Even When Devastated, Give Thanks – by Tonya May Avent
I knew Vernon was different the night I met him. I was in my late twenties and had moved from Atlanta to Jacksonville, Florida to work for a dot com company at the height of the internet boom. I traveled back and forth frequently to visit family and friends. I met Vernon in Atlanta on… Continue reading Healing for a Broken Heart – by Andrea Plowden
From my teenage years, I had clear plans for my future. Following college, I would head to a big inner-city, probably New York City, to work for the Salvation Army. Children weren’t in my plans as a previous surgery led me to believe I wouldn’t be able to become pregnant. However, after meeting Mark at… Continue reading Always With Me: Through Sickness and Death – by Tina Akridge
I met Sean in the early 80s when we were both sophomores at MLK High School in NYC. Like most high schools, the lunchroom was the social hub. Sean and his friends sat at the lunch table next to ours. They were funny but not obnoxious, well dressed, but not too popular. Sean stood out… Continue reading From Harlem to Heaven: A Love Story – by Elise Minor
I met Hillmon when I was nineteen, in a youth social club in Williamstown, NJ. This was in the mid-1950s; he and his siblings would drive over from Camden to the youth clubs in that area. At first glance, I had no idea of the love, friendship, and companionship I would experience after 61 years… Continue reading Rediscovering Myself After A Great Loss – By Margaret Moses
I married my husband Rafael on February 14, 1987, which I lovingly call Love Day in honor of Valentine’s Day. It was very cold with snow on the ground, yet it was a beautiful day - the beginning of the rest of our lives. We were very young by today's world standards. I was twenty-three… Continue reading Navigating Life After Losing Your Only Child – by Zayda Santiago
On June 11, 1996, my beautiful baby boy, Cameron, was born. When he was 4 years old, he was diagnosed with autism. In those early years, my husband Russ and I worked hard to take care of him, support him, and accommodate his special needs to ensure he had the best life possible. This didn’t… Continue reading A Mother’s Journey Towards Healing and Peace (Loss of Child) – by Yolanda McKinney
Labor Day had always been a special day to anticipate. Celebrating the end of summer and the last barbeque of the season - I could always remember the smell of the cedar planks and charcoal that we used for grilling. But after 2011, what Labor Day signified changed for me. Never again would I think about… Continue reading Lessons from Labor, Loss, and Life (Loss of a Child) – by Jerrice Moore
My story began in 1969 when I married my husband, Tommy. He was an officer in the mortuary division for the United States Army, and we were stationed in Germany. We agreed not to have children for the first few years of marriage so we could enjoy each other. After we were ready to start… Continue reading The Comfort of God After a Great Loss (Loss of a Child) – by Hazel May
February 2, 1995, was both a blessed but confusing day. I gave birth to my first beautiful baby, however, I also received the worst news of my life. My son Alfred William Lee, III was born happy and healthy. I was surrounded by family and had all the medical staff I needed to feel comfortable… Continue reading Accepting the Inevitable, Understanding the Purpose (Loss of a Child) – by April Lee
Faith-Filled Moms 