Zelma
Pooler, GA
My cross was given to me by my daughter Zakiya Jones. Zak is our middle daughter and as a teenager she went through some rough years. She began to live life the way she wanted which included running away from home for long periods of time and basically we had no relationship. Communication was horrible and she didn’t want to listen to anything we had to say. I cried constantly day and night and my heart ached and longed for my daughter. I just wanted what every parent wanted for their children, to be healthy, whole, happy, blessed and living well. I went out of my way to do all the things I thought would make her turn around and see that I only wanted what was best for her but nothing worked.
It was a hard lesson but I learned to lean on God. I had to take my focus off of the situation and put it on Him. I learned to take His promises for my children at His word. I confessed that my children are blessed and that they are saved. I called those things not how I saw them but how I wanted them to be. Everyday was challenging but I had to trust God for my sanity, my peace, my patience, my joy and hope that everything would be okay. I had to believe that Zakiya was secured in Him. The more I tried the worse it got and the more I suffered.
Well, this cross is proof that God answers prayers because Zakiya is happy, healthy, saved, married and has finished her medical assistance program and now preparing to go to college for nursing. Our relationship is sweet and I love the woman God is making her out to be. Everyday she is trying and moving forth is a positive direction and when the enemy comes in to make her feel different we pray.
There is no training manual for parenting but there is the Holy Spirit. Many days looked awful and it felt like things would never change, but I learned to speak what I know and not what I felt in the situation. Never give up on God because He never gives up on us or our children.
