If someone ever told you that a life can fall apart in an instant, I understand that statement to my very core, because it happened to me.

One day, I suddenly collapsed. A blood vessel in my brain had ruptured. In a split second, my world went black. When I woke up, I couldn't move. My right arm, my right hand, my right leg—even my mouth was frozen shut. From a person who lived a normal life, I became someone who couldn't speak, couldn't walk, and couldn't even summon the strength to smile at myself in the mirror.

Silence and pain ate away at my heart every single day. I felt worthless, as if I was no longer useful to anyone. I used to walk, talk, and laugh, but on that day, I became someone who could do nothing. I couldn't even cry. The silence inside me was deafening. I lay motionless on my bed day after day, waiting for time to let my spirit slowly die, with only one question repeating in my mind: “What is my worth now?”

Then one day, God sent a ray of hope. An AFT evangelist came to visit me and invited me to know Jesus. They simply said, “I don’t know if you’ve ever heard about Jesus, but if you feel you have no way forward, He will be the way for you.” I don’t know why, but those words shook my shattered heart. I decided to go.

Though I was weak in body and spirit, the moment I stepped inside, I was met with a love I had never known. People who were complete strangers loved me, prayed for me daily, and held my hand when I couldn't say a single word. I began to pray in my heart, “Jesus… if you can hear me, I want to walk again. I want to speak again. I want to know if I still have value.”

And He heard me. Little by little, my right fingers started to move. I began to support my own weight. I started to form simple words, one at a time. My voice wasn’t clear, but every word was a miracle. Every step I took was a gift from heaven.

Today, I can walk. My right arm, leg, and hand are so much stronger. My speech still isn’t perfect, but it’s so much better that I still tear up when I look back. And I am doing something I never dreamed possible: today, I serve on the worship leading team, singing praises to God. My voice may not be as clear as the others, but every word I sing is the sound of faith, the voice of someone who intimately knows the love and grace of Jesus Christ. I now go out to visit others with our ministry team, getting to be God’s hands in someone else’s life—even though I was once the one lying motionless on that bed.

Jesus didn’t just heal my body; He healed my broken heart and gave me my worth back. I am not just a person who recovered from an illness. I am a person who has been given a new life by Him. If He could do this for me, He can do it for anyone. That is why I have to tell this story. Jesus is real. He loves me… and He loves you, too. Thank you, Lord, for never abandoning me and for giving me this new life.