I bet you are wondering why in the world I named my blog “My life as a comma”……. Well, let me share with you the story behind it!
I have a story that is full of tragedy and yet at the same time a message of hope has risen up out of those ashes! I have been asked to share my story many times….which I generally don’t have a problem with. But when people started saying things like, “You should write a book!” and “You need to be a national speaker!”, well….let’s just say I was a little hesitant.
Now, those of you that knew me growing up will probably have a hard time with believing my hesitancy! That is because while I was growing up I was a dancer. Not just any dancer….I was a center stage dancer! I loved the spotlight and performing and being in front of people! But there is just something about using a story so tragic and seeming to self promote using this tragedy. Hesitant….. almost to the point of being defiant. Defiant to what God had planned for me.
I didn’t feel special. Just because something bad happened and I lived through it….didn’t make me anything more than anybody else….not in my mind. I mean, everyone has a book somewhere in there lives they could write. At least a chapter…..on life. So how was my story so special?
Well…it isn’t. I finally was able to take the star off my door and take myself off of center stage….and REALIZE…this isn’t my story. It is just a small part of God’s story. I believe in God as an all knowing, omnipotent God. One who knows the beginning and the end. I believe He knew my story before I was created. I trust that since the end of the story has already been written we must be somewhere in the “middle” of His story.
So I decided.. I could go on about my life and just exist. Just stay in my part of the world and not really go beyond it. OR….. I could do what I feel like God is leading me to do. I can share the hope of my story as His story and be a comma. You see, a comma makes us pause. A comma can change the way a sentence is read and interpreted. So I choose to be a comma. I want my life story to make someone pause. To make someone stop and think that if I can survive with God’s strength, then maybe they can survive whatever they are going through in their own journey…..with God’s strength.
Our Pastor told my husband that he was a comma in our church. Now I know why.
My husband survived a massive brain aneurysm and is able to work almost as hard as he did before the aneurysm. The Doctors were shocked, because they didn’t think he was going to live at first.
If he can survive something so life threatening, then others can survive going through whatever life brings them. He is a miracle, a comma.
WOW Cheli ! So uplifting , though tragic you’ve risen above . I too had my children murdered all five of them . My ex husband murdered them so I couldn’t have them even called me to boast while I heard them cry. I hope that I can only be half as strong as you are and persue something good our of something so senseless. Thank you for having the courage to share you and your three sons story and for pouring your heart out to other’s.
Sincerely,
Amber Jones
~Cheli
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Cheli, I’m not sure if you will know who I am. I met you 25 years ago. I was in a birthing class at the same time with you. My son was born on Oct. 31, 1988.
I knew your ex-husband through attending Southern Hills when I was a youth. I also went to a store you were working in to get my sons diploma, he was homeschooled.
I have been blessed by reading your blog. I too have had a before and after story. My husband was in a severe car wreck in 2010. He and my son were in a car that was hit by an oncoming tire. He spent 111 days in the hospital and is still disabled today. My son was injured but he is doing well today, other than pain on occasion.
I also can identify with before and after story. I look at pictures from our past and think, Oh, that was before the wreck,” or “that was after the wreck.”
My husband was an associate pastor. He misses his job greatly. It has been a hard 4 1/2 years. I am praying that God will use this life change to help others through their trials and heartaches.
It blesses me to see how God is using your life to minister to others. I will continue to pray for you and understand why you would use the word “comma”.
I’m sure you have heard Jeremy Camps song, “I Still Believe”. If not, I hope you have a chance to do so. It has really ministered to me.
Many Blessings
Cheli~ THANK YOU for being that comma. I was at Woodland Hills Baptist Church last night when you spoke. I have been through some storms over the last few years and you made me “pause” to think about all the blessings I have looked past because I was too full of the negative stuff. Thank you so much for listening to God, he is definitely using you in a powerful way. May he continue to BLESS you and your precious family.
It’s interesting to see this point of view. I can’t say fore sure if I agree or not, but it is something I will think about now.