My Testimony (Part 1)

" But by the grace of God, I am what I am. His grace which is within me, was not in vain. Though I labored more abundantly then they all, not I but by the grace of God that was within me." 1 Corinthians 15:10


That is my life verse.

I was born in August of 1967 to an unwed mother, my father had been a married man, though not married to my mother. When my mother was 3 months pregnant with me he died suddenly. I'm sure his wife, as well as my mother were devastated. His wife was left with 6 young children and my mother had a toddler and was pregnant with me. Turbulence, shame, and guilt are a few things that come to mind.

In 1967 abortion was illegal, so she did not seek out that option. No one in her family knew she was pregnant and adoption became a real thought. I'm not sure how my mother hid her pregnancy from those around her, but she did. It wasn't up till hours after I was born that she decided to keep me. My understanding was that she overheard a nurse talking about how women have babies and then give them up and she didn't understand it. Apparently it hit her heartstrings, because she took me home.

Through the years, my mother did the best she could. She was single, in a time when being single was not in fashion. She also had committed the sin of adultery and had not one but two children as a reminder. As tough as it must of been she always took us to church and made sure we knew about God. We prayed over our meals, prayed at bed time, and read the Bible stories. My mother planted seeds that stayed with us forever.

As time went on she found a man. This man desired my mother, but not her children. She made a choice, and that choice was him. For at least a year my sister and I basically lived alone. I was seven years old and she was nine. Our lives consisted of going to school, going to day care, heading home to eat a frozen meal, television, maybe homework, and bed. We rarely saw our mother and when we did she would take us to her boyfriends house. He was not a nice man and I have many bad memories of him, which I'll share later.

After about a year, our grandmother came to visit. She must of realized something was up, because she came back to live with us. I can tell you that having a loving adult influence made a huge difference. My grades were terrible, from lack of trying and I'm sure my attitude was worse. She got me caught up in my schoolwork and in no time I was with or even ahead of my peers. The teachers were amazed and actually asked her to tutor other students!! I think that's where my love of homeschooling started. ;o)

My grandmother lived with us for about a year, and then decided to head back to her own home. We lived in Massachusetts and she lived in Connecticut. She asked my mother what she wanted to do. Was she ready to make a decision and could she live with the decision she would make? I would like to think my mother agonized over this, but in truth she did not. Her and her boyfriend drove off and we were headed toward a new life without her............ (to be continued)