Blessings in Disguise

By Debbie Davis-Jones

There's not one person that at some time hasn't gone through some kind of trial. Suffering has a way of making us self-centered, but the fact is we are not the only ones suffering. Our family and friends are hurting for us. They're praying for us and going out of their way and taking up their time to help out however they can. For a lot of us, their suffering hurts us more than what we are going through. At some point, we start questioning God and wondering why God has forsaken us. God has a time and a purpose for our tribulations. This book was written to help you understand God loves you. You need to take your trials and pain to him. His grace will comfort you. The hope is that this book will encourage you to look for the blessings you can receive through trials.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098034122

Book preview

Chapter 1

What’s Going On

Ihad been having trouble with my right hand falling asleep for a couple years. It was hard for me to write, carry things, and put on my makeup. The biggest problem was it affected my job. I was a nail technician. I had to stop and shake my hand every few minutes to wake it up.

It was time for me to see the doctor. Well, sure enough, I had carpal tunnel in both hands.

I was in a real dilemma. We’re talking about not being able to do my job.

God had blessed me with about ninety ladies. These ladies were not only my clients, but they had become my friends. We sat across the table from one another, hand in hand, eye to eye, every two weeks (some, every week) for several years.

I had a big decision to make. Could I take off a few weeks or months then come back? Would my clients come back? Would I even be able to do nails at all? After much prayer, talking to my husband and my doctor, I decided to quit.

In June of 1995, I had surgery on my right hand then a month later, my left.

After both hands were healed, I started having pain in my arm. I had to have surgery on my ulnar nerve. The surgery did not take the pain away. I thought it might be from a serious injury years earlier.

In 1977, my husband, David, and I had a bad car wreck. The car rolled five times, end-over-end.

David was worried about me; he wouldn’t let the EMT check him out or the doctor in the emergency room. As a matter of fact, the care I received by the EMT saved my life.

I woke up while the doctor was sewing on my leg. I was told he took four hours sewing up my face. I am very grateful because you can barely see the scars. And my face was cut up bad. Yes, I’m probably a little vain.

The next morning, I was transferred to a hospital in Wichita Falls, Texas. I had crushed five of seven vertebrae in my neck. They screwed tongs in my skull and hung twenty-two pounds on them. The pain was horrific. One reason it was so painful, the screws were 3/4.

I lay naked on a Stryker frame for almost a month. It was basically a board. When they turned me over they laid another board on top of me, strapped it down, and flipped it over. What a ride!

My mother slept on a cot right next to me. If you’ve ever stayed even one night in the hospital sitting with someone, you know how miserable it can be.

David worked every day then drove forty-seven miles every night to see me. It wasn’t that simple though. He drove a truck in the oil field, so most of the time he got there in the wee hours of the morning.

To save time, he grew a beard. It’s been forty years, and he still has his mustache and goatee. This is the type of family I have.

After my neck was fused, they put a halo on my head. The halo was screwed into my skull in four places. They do not put you to sleep for this. I thought the tongs hurt; this was so much worse. I had to wear this for four months.

Years later, I found out it is medically impossible for me to be alive, and I wasn’t even paralyzed. I know now why the nurses kept poking my feet with needles. They couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t paralyzed.

What they didn’t know is my God is real and in the miracle business and God had plans for me.

Chapter 2

I Didn’t Do It

Even though I hurt all the time, I was still able to serve God. He was using me and blessing me.

I was teaching in Vacation Bible School and a VBS director.

I was teaching Sunday school.

I taught two- to three-year-olds Wednesday night.

We were youth directors.

I sang solo and in the choir.

I was in charge of decorating.

I designed, drew, and painted sets.

God blessed me with my talents. I love serving God. All of a sudden, things started to change.

We started having trouble in the youth department brought on by some of the parents. This was so bad because many teens were being saved. God blessed us with around seventy-five teens on Wednesday night, and this was in a small church.

David worked Wednesday night, so I taught the class. One man didn’t like that because I was a woman. One lady felt her daughter wasn’t learning anything that pertained to her.

When we first took over the youth, we sent out a questionnaire to learn more about their lives, to see what problems they may be struggling with.

The majority of them grew up in this church. We thought we knew them pretty much. It was shocking and painful to read about the troubles in their lives.

Please pray for others. If you want a close relationship with Jesus, pray for others.

After reading these papers, I knew what needed to be taught on and talked about:

sex

drugs

alcohol

peer pressure

family problems

money problems

It broke my heart to know these boys and girls were suffering. That’s why I couldn’t understand the lady taking her daughter out of the class. I’m glad she wasn’t having problems. But I felt sorry for her because she seemed not to care about the other teens’ troubles. She wasn’t willing to listen, after all, she might face one of these situations someday. And sure enough, she did. Her parents divorced. Most of us have sat through a sermon we didn’t think pertained to us.

I couldn’t figure it out. I was doing so much. Great things were happening. What was going on? Have you figured it out? It was I.

Sunday night during VBS finale, it became clear to me. Standing right there at the podium, it hit me like a brick wall.

God was using me. God gave the talent, and God gave the increase. He did it all. I hadn’t done anything. I was the vessel God used.

My pride got the best of me, my head swelled, and I was ashamed.

As soon as the VBS finale was over, I hit the altar on bended knee and asked God to forgive me and show me his will for my life.

Chapter 3

An Eye-Opener

In a very short time, my situation changed, and my life took on a whole new direction. My pain was getting a lot worse. It was getting harder to do simple tasks. Appreciate simple things—simple as putting toothpaste on your toothbrush or