As a young girl, I believed no one, including my family, liked me. Once I drew a picture of myself being attacked by demons. I drew Jesus standing off to the side and watching me in disappointment as I struggled under the weight of the attacks. I believed He could help, but I also believed the weight was mine to bear. I thought only when I overcame the struggle that Jesus and I could move on.

At some point, I learned that I could change that picture of Jesus in my mind to a better one if I wanted to. So I began to intentionally picture myself as a child running into God’s open arms while He embraced me with a smile. He has honored that picture on more than one occasion by giving me visions of what it looks like from His perspective as a loving Father.

One time, I was in a particularly low place. I’d dropped out of college and failed my last semester. Because of this, I lost my financial aid and couldn’t continue studying. In addition, I became convinced I should only work a job I was sure was God’s perfect will for me. I couldn’t pay my rent and eventually had to move back in with my mother who lived 15 hours away. This was hard for me because I had a troublesome relationship with her.

My car was literally falling apart so I had to give it up. My phone was linked to a new service provider and didn’t work in my mother’s city yet so it was of no use to me. I had put my last dime in the gas tank driving from Georgia to Texas. I felt like I’d failed and lost everything. I was depressed and couldn’t seem to land considerably easy jobs, nor could I hold on to the jobs I had.

One day, the Lord showed me a vision of myself as a little girl learning to walk. As I walked to Him, He held His arms wide for me and smiled. When I fell, He smiled encouragingly as if telling me not to be discouraged.

Immediately after receiving this vision, I went to open my Bible. The Lord led me to Galatians 3 where He revealed His grace to me for the first time. After reading the passage, I turned on the television to watch a sermon and saw Joseph Prince’s broadcast. I thought to give it a chance but I kept the remote control in my hand in case something he said didn’t line up with God’s Word. As you can probably tell, I am still listening to and watching Pastor Prince’s sermons to this day. At that time, I was surprised how well Pastor Prince’s sermon lined up with what the Lord had just revealed to me in Galatians 3.

Shortly after this my mother told me the GI Bill was being reissued for school funding. Even though I’d already used my first benefit, I applied again and was issued the second benefit. My school also called and told me I qualified for a program where all my grades below C+ would be dropped if I went back to school!

While preparing to move back to Georgia, I rented a car, which surprisingly I really liked. I told the Lord it was the car I wanted. Immediately, my mother called and told me she had just found out a guy from her church was a finance manager for that particular car company and was willing to help me get the car. She had no clue of the conversation I just had with the Lord. When I met up with the guy, I was told that a car in the model and color I wanted had been kept for a lady who never came back for it. It became my new car.

After moving to Georgia, I purposed to look for a job immediately. I walked into a business and submitted my résumé. They hired me on the spot, bypassing normal processes. I worked there for 5 years and also got the apartment I told the Lord I wanted. Today I have graduated from college and now have my own business.

Thank you, Pastor Prince, for allowing God to use you. I’m sure all my blessings started when I received the vision of God smiling at me.