Guest Post – Life Through God’s Design

Guest Post by Jenny Lorton – Allow me to introduce a reader with an incredible story. Jenny is a survivor and an inspiration. I hope that her story will inspire you to press on and be hopeful in the promises of our Lord and Savior. God bless you, Jenny. Thank you for sharing!

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For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  – Psalm 139:12-14 (NIV)

My mother could not have predicted what would happen when she became pregnant with a second child.  Her first child was a big, healthy, bouncing boy.  At about 1 ½ years old, she had no reason to think that her baby would be anything but healthy as the first.

Two years later, there was an epidemic raging across the United States.  Children were dying.  Many others were paralyzed.  Few showed no direct affects.  Vaccines were being developed as fast as science could allow.  That’s when my Mother’s world seemed to fall apart.

I was stricken with polio.  It crippled me in a matter of weeks, but at first only appeared as a virus.  That’s when the worst happened.  My legs got weaker and weaker, then I couldn’t walk.  Doctors and hospitals, nurses and therapists, became a part of everyday life.

One of the best things of all is that, now that I’ve grown, I realize how God had everything planned from the start.  He knew about the polio and placed me with the best care team in the industry.  He knew I would need a lot of love and attention and gave me Christian grandparents.  He also knew I would need to grow strong in my own right and He put all the pieces in place.

Unfortunately, I was not living in a Godly home.  My parents were young, in their early 20’s.  My Dad was recently dismissed from World War II.  My Mother was a stay-at-home mom who had married in her teen years.  Drinking was a way of life for them.  Church was not.  Because of being raised by Christian parents, though, my Mother decided that her children would attend church on Sundays.  We were driven to church, dropped off and then picked up after Sunday School and Church Service were over.  Parents attended on Easter Sundays or special homecoming days.  This allowed God to plant His seed in my life.

At a church summer retreat, I asked God into my life.  I knew it was for real; however, without being watered daily, I did not follow Christ.  I lived life with many obstacles.  After many surgeries in two different children’s hospitals, the polio left me relegated to wearing a long-leg brace and using a crutch.  But I always had hope.  I knew who had my life in His hands, even though the choices I made were not Biblical.  God kept guiding me.  He never gave up.

God was in my head, in my life, but I did not allow Him to become my one and all.  I can’t say there was an instant moment where I needed to finally publicly acknowledge God and start living a life for Christ, but I knew He held my life in his hands and He had led me along a path that would put me exactly where I needed to be – back in His fold.

God has been with me through many, many surgeries.  One divorce.  One miscarriage.  Numerous health problems.  Despite it all, God never left me but has gently led me home.

Jenny is a retired civilian finance manager from the Air Force where she worked for 24 years. She resides in Warner Robins, Georgia with her husband and 3 dogs. In her spare time, Jenny is an artist and avid crafter. She enjoys helping and sharing the bible the others. A life-long dream has always been to write.

*Original artwork image by Mara Rose 2013.

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