Cindy's Story

Prayer works. If you want your prayers to be answered, pray for someone else’s needs first.  Everything that Lighthouse does is an answer to someone’s prayers.  They are certainly an answer to mine.

I found the ministry when God sent me and my husband to Bayshore Friends Church many years ago.  We were looking for yard work and came across people near the church who told us about it.  Almost immediately we learned about Lighthouse.  Hard work brought us to LCM and its sense of supportive family in prayer and service.

I’ve never been afraid of hard work.  I married a man who, as a Vietnam Navy veteran, is not afraid of work either.  We have cut yards, built things.  I did everything he did – nailing, mowing, anything – except the work on boats as a fisherman or shrimper.  I couldn’t do that.  I’ve needed that work ethic because we’ve had many challenges.

He’s had severe back injuries and a head injury from work.  The first occurred when I was pregnant.  I was his caregiver.  I’ve lived in two homeless shelters with my kids while my husband was healing from his injuries.  We’ve been married 33 years. Our daughter and grandkids live with us in our trailer now and we love it.

I am at peace with life.  I’ve had to learn peace and grace when it comes to dealing with life’s situations.  I wasn’t always that way, but faith has helped me choose the positive life.

You have to look up, no matter your situation.  Put God first and choose a positive life.  Life is challenging and each month we barely get by, but I’m happy and never give up working hard and taking steps to make things better.  And pretty soon I’ll feel better about smiling about it.

Thanks to the ministry, I will be getting a partial lower denture and a complete upper.  I am too young for Medicare and too old for Medicaid.  There is no other way that I could get this dental work, and it is affecting my health in other ways.  I don’t even know what to expect, but it makes me sort of emotional to think what it will be like when I get the work done.  It should help with my health and even change the shape of my face, the doctor said.  It has been so long that I have dealt with this … but soon, I will be able to smile big.

I enjoy volunteering at the church and the ministry.  It is so good to help answer the prayers of others by distributing food and Christmas presents, or raising up others in prayer.  God won’t meddle in our lives, but we can take steps every day with his grace to help ourselves and others.  And do it with a smile on our faces.

(Photo and Story by: Dion McInnis)