God's Amazing Grace and Mercy

After contracting COVID-19 in April of 2020 where I spent 6 days on a ventilator at the Nacogdoches Medical Center and a total of 23 days in the hospital including 8 days of rehabilitation, I decided to write my memoirs. After some thinking and reflecting on life, I realize that it was the Amazing Grace and Mercy of Almighty God that have enabled me to make whatever contributions I have made to my family, church, this community, and other places that I have lived. It was by the Amazing Grace and Mercy of Almighty God that my grandparents and great grandparents were determined to make a living from the land to take care of their off spring and show them how to trust Him for their very existence. God’s Amazing Grace and Mercy led my father to make the decision to leave the farm in Houston County and move his little family to Angelina County to make a living and instill in his children the value of education. It was the Amazing Grace and Mercy of Almighty God that led my mother to teach me how to read by using items in her kitchen such as cereal boxes and wrappings on canned food items. God’s Grace and Mercy protected my four brothers and me as we grew up. Two of my brothers had illnesses that could have ended their lives as infants and small children. God’s Grace led my parents to encourage me to participate in the band and learn to play the piano which provided the skills that I would needed get a scholarship that covered by tuition, room and board at Jarvis Christian College. God’s Amazing Grace and Mercy helped me to get over the death of a fiancé and led me to Huston-Tillotson where I met second to Jesus, the love of my life and we have been married for 56 years. God extended his mercy to me and healed me of a disease that led to the death of one of my father’s young sisters.
The Amazing Grace and Mercy of Almighty God have guided me through all aspects of my marriage. Wilbert and I have two adult daughters and three adult grandsons. Our children and grandchildren are college educated. Our two daughters and oldest grandson have earned Master’s Degrees and all are gainfully employed. The older daughter is a teacher, our younger daughter is a health services administrator, our oldest grandson is doing well in the Military, the middle grandson works in a medical lab, and youngest grandson is back in the states after playing professional basketball in Germany for two years. The Amazing Grace and Mercy of Almighty God led me through surgeries and encouraged me to engage in serious Bible Study. It was God’s Mercy and Grace that protected us in New Mexico and led us back to Texas to spend two years with my family. The family circle had not been broken then. God’s Mercy and Grace led us to Virginia where we spent 23 years and then led us back to Texas. I was able to spend 18 years with my Mom before Almighty God called her home to live with Him. His Mercy provided 13 years for me to visit and interact with my second oldest brother before he slipped away to live with our Lord and Savior. It was nothing but God’s Grace and Mercy that allowed us to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, then our 50th and still leading us after 56 years of marriage. It has been His Amazing Grace and Mercy that have provided me an opportunity to grow toward a closer relationship with Him through Bible Study. I have seen my husband, daughters, and even grandsons grow toward a closer relationship with our Lord and Savior. I am so, so thankful to God for His hand of mercy, grace and love toward our family. This narrative will provide some details of how God has guided, provided, and protected me by his Amazing Grace and Mercy over almost 80 years.