Before I was born, my father was saved at the Apostolic Faith Church in Los Angeles, California. He met my mother at a camp meeting in Portland, Oregon, and after they married, they settled in his hometown of Key West, Florida, and raised nine children there.

My father was zealous about spreading the Gospel. He would preach about Jesus on the street corners and took our family to retirement homes to sing to the elderly and talk to them about the Lord. Unfortunately, there was no Apostolic Faith Church in Key West. We read the Bible and prayed together as a family, but it was only us.

My dad was very careful about the activities we were allowed to do. I wanted to fit in with the kids at school, but the restrictions in our home seemed to get in the way. So to me, the Gospel appeared to be all rules and regulations. Though I never went deep into sin in my youth, I also didn’t give my heart to the Lord.

After graduating from high school, my plan was to work for two years and then go to college. My goal for college was not to get a degree, but to be the most popular girl on campus. I purposed in my heart to do whatever it took, even ignoring my Christian upbringing if it got in the way of my achieving that goal. Mercifully, God had other plans for my life. The funding for college fell through and I began a full-time job at a local retail store.

In 1996, when I was twenty-one years old, my dad said our family would be attending camp meeting in Portland. The Lord had been talking to me and I decided that I would pray through to salvation if I went to camp meeting. But before we went, unexpected expenses came up and the trip had to be cancelled. I did not give it much thought until I heard my mother on the phone trying to purchase one ticket for a last-minute flight to Portland. Somehow, my father found out that I was intending to get saved, and he made a way to get me to the camp meeting. It was my first time away from the security of my family, but I knew God would somehow protect me and see that I made it to Portland despite having never traveled alone before.

I kept my commitment and after the first service I went to the altar and asked the Lord to save me, and He did. Two days later, He sanctified me. Not much changed on the outside, but there was a big difference on the inside. I knew I was a child of God.

Back in Key West, I continued working in retail. After a few years, I was employed at a business owned by a very nice couple, and they promoted me to be their buyer. They paid me a good wage, yet somehow, I became dissatisfied. I felt I was capable of doing more and earning more. Although I didn’t feel right about quitting, I decided to do it anyway. I opened my own store and at the same time, purchased a new car and a house. These were all decisions that I should have prayed about, but I didn’t because I wanted my own way.

I learned the hard way why it is important to pray about major decisions and to follow God’s leading. Before I even moved into my new house, I was unable to pay my bills. I ended up having to rent out the house while I slept on a cot at the back of my shop.

As I struggled to keep up with my bills, the Lord started talking to me about how I had left Him out of my plans. One day, the Holy Spirit convicted me and I felt the need to make sure I was still saved. I prayed, repenting of having gone my own way and ignoring God’s direction. I asked God to forgive me and by the time I finished praying, I had the assurance that I was saved and sanctified.

A short time later, while I was laying on my cot one night, the song “You Are the King of Glory” came on the radio. I got on my knees to pray, and the Spirit came down and baptized me right there. I was so grateful for that. I had made such a mess with my foolish decisions, and I expected God would be upset. Instead, He had mercy and patience for me. God is so good and his love for me had not changed.

In 2005, Hurricane Wilma caused major flooding throughout our city. I lost my car in the flooding and then had to close my shop because people were only buying essential goods and services. It seemed like God was leading me back to the point where I had first veered from His plan—my car and shop were gone, and I moved in with my sister and took a job in retail again. I told the Lord, “This time, I will stay until You tell me to leave.” At one point another store owner tried to recruit me, but I didn’t even consider it. I had learned my lesson.

By that time in my life, I thought I knew a lot about sales, but I actually had a lot to learn, and God was the One who taught me. In His time, He led me into a management position at a new company. I was never trained for it, but God showed me how to do it. Every strategy that I implemented came from Him. Methods and procedures that my superiors should have taught me, God revealed to me and helped me to accomplish. I had thought that without a college education, it would be impossible to advance in my career, but I found that when I stayed in God’s will, all things became possible. Instead of taking credit for myself or relying on a degree, I knew that all the glory belonged to God.

One unresolved issue from my past was the house that I had purchased. Housing prices are extremely high in Key West, and in 2008 the market dropped and my house went into foreclosure. While I didn’t want to lose it, I also knew that it had not been God’s will for me to make that purchase in the first place. When I received the foreclosure notice, I got down and prayed until I knew I wanted God’s will more than my own. I put the whole situation into His hands—if He wanted me to keep the house, I knew He would make a way, but if it was not His will, I would let it go.

In a miraculous way, God did provide the funds to save my house and the foreclosure was dismissed. But eventually, He laid it on my heart to sell the house and pay back the debts that I owed, one of them being a personal loan that I had taken in order to purchase the house. Many years later, I still had not been able to repay it. I understood that I had obtained the house in ways that were outside of God’s will, and I needed to make those things right. Despite my mistakes, God still showed me mercy by allowing me to sell the house rather than lose it in foreclosure, and I thank Him for that.

The house sold in just three days, and immediately I felt free! I hadn’t realized that my financial debts were a burden that I carried daily. It was wonderful to know that my record was clear and my integrity was no longer compromised. And even if I never own a house again, I know there is a home waiting for me in Heaven.

In 2016, a small Apostolic Faith church group was established in Key West, and we also have a Sunday school program with mostly children from Haitian immigrant families. I didn’t know anything about teaching Sunday school when we started, but God has been showing me. He helps me with everything I do. Most of the children who come are not from Christian homes and some of them are already dealing with heavy problems. I feel honored that God has entrusted me to plant seeds of the Gospel in their lives. When I see them start to understand, it warms my heart. I absolutely love it.

I was also asked to lead our congregation’s weekly Bible study and to preach once a month. I didn’t feel qualified to do that either, but I told God I was willing if He would teach me what to do, and He has been helping me.

Recently, God also made a way for me to open my own shop again. This time, I did it His way, and I can see opportunities for Him to use the space to also help our Sunday school community. God’s ways are truly higher than ours.

God has been so patient and so good to me. He has helped me to understand that what I want is not always best, but if I let go of what I want, then He can give me His best. It took me a while to learn that, but I’m thankful I understand it now. I am forever grateful for God’s great love for me.