Life is hard. Kindness, courage, and love will help you prosper.
Author: Melissa
Hello, my name is Melissa. I grew up as a pastor's kid and am now a pastor's wife. I'm married to Joseph Smith, who is the Pastor of Pine Air Baptist Church in Grand Bay, AL. We have three miracle children here on earth and two in heaven.
As of July 18, 2017, God graciously allowed me to survive being struck by lightning. Five years later on March 31, 2022, I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer HER2+ and HER2-. Today, I can say, together with God's help, I am an OVERCOMER!
Because He lives and His mercies renew every morning, I can say I am a Lightning Survivor, Cancer Warrior, and Daughter of the King!
Jude 1:22 – “And of
some have compassion, making a difference:”
While reading the book of Jude this week during one of my morning devotions times, it was an encouragement to me. It made me think of all the evil reports in the news media, of how disrespectful lots of people are to Pastor’s, the President, or those in authority, and how people are lovers of self more than God. It made me think of how God would not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness because of ONE righteous person.
America still can have hope of old-fashioned revival as long
as the righteous are willing to allow the presence of His glory shine in their
lives in the darkness around them. God
alone has the glory, majesty, power, and dominion now and forever! Amen!
10:08a- Listening to
Classical Music while practicing writing Scripture for improving neurological
function after nerve injury. Scripture
writing for today: Lamentations 3:22-23
& Matthew 7:4-6
1:33p- Involuntarily jerking throughout
body. Only able to get 2 loads of laundry done before hurting bad. Had to have help making my bed.
Hard to talk on phone. It’s a chore to try to focus on what the person is saying. It’s worse when other people talking around me. Cramping in rt leg. Rt calf is throbbing. Rt hip stabbing & throbbing pain down leg – can’t get comfortable no matter what position.
*Received several Happy Birthday notifications on Facebook today. Made me smile. Today was a blessed day.
Admin of my support group (LS&ESSI) posted this on our page. Thought it might be helpful in explaining what lightning strike survivors deal with after being struck by lightning.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:10-13
The armour that God gives His children: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and the battle plan of prayer. We need to purposefully put these on daily in order to be successful in our Christian walk. Without these, we are unarmed and will surely fall.
Psalm 37:3-5 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Interesting enough is that in this psalm David gives
us the solution to achieving peace admist the turmoils of life:
fret not (vs1), trust (vs3), delight (vs4),
commit (vs5),
rest (vs7), cease from anger, forsake wrath, & fret not (vs8).
I am thankful that we can trust the Lord with all of life’s challenges.
8:16a- Woke
up with tailbone throbbing. I’m
exhausted already. No energy today.
10:10a- Icy
sensation in middle of chest. Feel
scatterbrained. Trouble focusing.
2:09p- Tailbone hurts!!! Pain Rx not touching it. Muscles in upper back are burning, twitching, and hurts. Butt muscles hurt. Tired, but can’t sleep. Heart beating hard. Middle of chest hurts.
2:47 – posted on Facebook –
Everyone has a “giant” in their life or a storm they face. Sadly, many allow that giant to defeat them on a daily basis. I have a GOD who is BIGGER than any giant in my life or your life for that matter. He can perform miracles if we only allow Him.
I may be struggling with difficulties because of recent events. There are many days that it is a chore to push forward to even get out of bed. Yes, I am willing to admit that I have had several days that I feel defeated because there are many things that I just cannot do right now. I even have my moments that all I can do is cry.
What does one do when their trials seem to be more than enough? You lean on the Everlasting Arms of the Heavenly Father. He will carry you through. Deuteronomy 33:27 “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms:”
I believe without a shadow of a doubt that
GOD WILL perform the miracle that only He can do. God will make this trial a
blessing.
Philippians
1:6 “Being confident of this very thing,
that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of
Jesus Christ:”
6:10p- Shortly after chest started hurting it turned to icy sensation from inside out. Loud noises hurt my ears. Hard to concentrated. Slide presentation was way too loud for me causing an extremely sharp pain in brain that hurt so bad it brought automatic tears to eyes. Instant headache!!! I had to leave the room! Random hiccups.
10:49p- Extreme pain in tailbone area. used heating pad for 30 min. Sensitive to sounds I didn’t notice before – have to investigate to figure out what it is. Very tired, but can’t sleep. Don’t think I drank enough today. I’m thirsty now
8:00a – burnt my left foot trying to cook breakfast. Making grits – tried stirring and hand slipped causing hot water to spill out onto floor and hit my foot. Lavender oil to the rescue & Joe too.
10:19a- Face
and entire inside of rt arm itches.
Horrible headache. Rt hip
throbbing.
12:53p- can
feel my heart beating hard. Headache has eased slightly.
1:27p- hung
shower curtain liner now I’m exhausted and muscles in back are spazzing
2:30p- Mom took me to get rx and some groceries. Took me forever to make decisions on what to buy even though I had a list. Wore out from trip. Muscles spams in back most of day until I soaked in Epsom Salt Bath. Muscles twitching inside of lft hand. Headache finally gone.
*In case you’re wondering… Yes, I know there are a lot of grammatical errors. I wanted you to know how my brain was processing things. It will take quite a while before I actually begin thinking in correct grammar. Not only am I dealing with what happened and the lasting effects, but also my brain is quite mixed up at present and it’s difficult to actually speak what I’m thinking. Most of the time it comes out jumbled, backwards, or not even what I was thinking. It is very frustrating at times.
2:20am –
Jerked awake, muscles ache and hurt.
Muscles twitching. Right hip
hurts.
4:00am –
Jerked awake from bad dream. Extremely
hot. Feel like I’m burning up. Whole body aches, extremely thirsty.
7:00am –
Headaches, legs, and feet throbbing. rest of body aches, stuffy nose.
10:00am –
Lost control of my left hand and dropped my cell phone.
2:39 – Upper
back muscles are burning, right hip throbbing, headache gone, got confused
preparing lesson for tomorrow, exhausted, need to rest, trouble reading today.
September 20, 2017
7:00a- woke
up with horrible headache
11:05a-
ringing in right ear – last for a moment then gone. Got confused on signs I should know. Stuttering.
Exhausted and need to rest.
3:45p – Can’t
figure out how to open rice bag. Had to
get help.
8:00p- sharp,
tingling sensation in middle of shoulder blades, headache has eased slightly
8:45p – icy
sensation from inside center of chest.
September 21, 2017
2:20a- woke
to use restroom. Still have slight headache. Lower back hurts. Extremely
thirsty.
6:30a- both
calf muscles cramping. Lower back throbbing. Very tired. Slight headache.
Stuffy nose and trouble breathing. Very thirsty. Rt hip hurts. Eyes watering.
8:30a- cried
today because I don’t want to be a burden to my husband and family. Need to meditate on Scripture more. Lights bright
bother my eyes. Have to make lists to get things done.
12:43p-
muscles in back feel like they’re on fire and cramping. Butt muscles
throbbing. Feel scatterbrained today.
3:30p – left
knee popped twice, whole body aches awful, feel like I’m burning up, but have
no fever.
6:14p- Sharp
pain in left forearm!!! Tailbone
throbbing like I fell and bruised it, but I haven’t fallen.
11:45p-
muscles spazzing, rt leg cramping…gonna be a long night!
Philippians 4:6-7 Be careful fornothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
3. Lumosity
(memory, attention, speed of processing, problem solving, and flexibility)
4. Therapy
(reading, writing, comprehension, and naming)
5. Tetris
For more
apps, tools, and aids for TBI, check out Brain Injury Peer Visitor info on this
website.
12:30p- put
hamburger on stove to cook for lunch.
Got asked a question. Went to the
room to get something to answer it…got side tracked and forgot meat was on
stove. Smoked the kitchen up!!!
1:00p- got
stressed out trying to cook lunch and get ready for ladies conference and
started falling apart…bout to have a meltdown. Joe came to my rescue!!!
2:49p- I have
a bad headache. Rt hip and leg
hurts. Fleeting sharp pain down rt
arm. I yelled ouch! Dezirae was a doll trying to help me get
ready.
4:11p- I am
extra jumpy in car. Ugh! It’s making my body tense up.
6:24p- Met
another pastor’s wife that has been struck by lightning – Robin Ogle! She was special speaker for DSLC2017. Theme this year is “Keep Calm. He’s the
Master of the Sea.”
She was telling me some of my symptoms. (I was surprised that someone else knew exactly how I was feeling physically and emotionally – it was refreshing though I don’t wish on my worst enemy). She told me that I’m in the middle of a miracle. I told her we were “One in a million”. She said it took her about a year to recover.
Deep South Ladies Conference 2017
10:12p – head
throbbing – if I could just open it up and let the pressure out it might feel
better. Rt hip screaming hurt. Sharp pain down right leg to ankle. Overly exhausted. Lower back screaming throbbing pain.
