Hello, my name is Deborah, I am wheelchair-bound, but I have been able to reach out and help more people in this chair than I ever could when I could walk—strange, huh? I have ministries that help women and men who have been raped, beaten, and held against their will by their abusers. I used to be one of these women, so I know what they face and how hard it is to get away. I had two babies at the time, but by the grace of God, He made it possible for us to get away. We stayed in hiding for three months until my court date, but he followed us back, and God kept us safe until the police came. Each time he would find us and I would have to move to a new location. This continued for years until I met my youngest daughter’s dad, and we moved three hours away. It was the first time I could breathe. But my marriage did not last long, as he hit my middle daughter for having a fan running with the window open and we had to go into a shelter.

All that is over, I have tried marriage four times only to find men who thought it was their right to abuse my children or me. I have been alone for years now. I now have stage three Parkinson’s, spinal stenosis, and many other health issues. Yet, through all this, God has placed two crosses on the inner part of my right wrist (no joke)! Meanwhile, Jesus woke me up in 2021 (at age 57) and told me I needed to go back to school to learn more, to do what I do. So, I am at Colorado Christian University (online).

I will be 59 in October and God has big plans for me. I even have a brain disease and the only reason I can go to school is through Him. No one with this brain disease would consider attending school, let alone getting a GPA of 4.0! I will be done earning my associate’s degree before this Christmas, and my ceremony will be next year in May.

On July 11th of this year, God woke me up to alert me of a problem. I use a Bi-Pap machine when I sleep, and it has a water tank. I had my mask on but was gasping for a breath, I pushed my medical alert, but they could not hear me because I was having issues trying to get air. The alert system alerted my daughter and she told me dispatch had been sent out. I Praise the Lord! There was water in my tube from my machine to my mask, and I’m so grateful I have such a long tube and the water could not get to me, but I had stopped breathing. God woke me up to breathe again since my machine was not able to take care of it!

I pray that I can come up with the money needed to attend my graduation and shake the instructor’s hand who never gave up on me, and my counselor who tells me I inspire him. He says, it’s because I always end my emails with, “Yet I smile…”

Love and hugs from your sister in Christ.