You never know what God is up to, and this story, this beautiful tribute, is evidence of His divinely connected dots, aligned to remind us of His glory. Little did I anticipate that a TCV Mother's Day Giveaway contest would bring me to tears while reading it. Awaiting the arrival of participants for a lunch meeting, I had to quickly collect myself before anyone showed up. Rolling in the tears was a tremendous story of a woman, a mother, a human being with monumental faith in God! As you will read her daughter's story, that strong foundation of faith did not shake or shatter when facing diagnoses that would have rocked many of us to our core. I am in awe of her courage, endurance, but most of all, her immense love for and faith in God. Mrs. Atkinson is a fearless footsoldier on the battlefield for Christ! We can all learn a huge lesson from her this Mother's Day 2022, and each day to come. She personifies enduring faith through adversity for sure. Thanks, my spiritual sister, Kesha, for sharing the essence of your mother's beauty with the world. Her light shines in you. I love you. ❤️
~By Kesha Atkinson-Howell
Hi Lisa, I know that everyone probably thinks that their mom is special, but here's a brief summary of why I think my mom is so special....
In January of 2020, my mom (Vann Atkinson) was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer stage 1. She underwent a lumpectomy, 4 rounds of chemo and 21 days of radiation treatment. Through all of this, my mom had this saying that she would tell everybody, and that was "God's Got Me." Even though she had plenty of reasons why she could complain, she never did. She continued to work as a substitute teacher at New Hope Elementary School with the students that she absolutely loves, be a great wife, awesome mother and grandmother, aunt, friend, and remained faithful to the church ministry. This year on January 10th, 2022, my mom received another cancer diagnosis. This time it was not just 1 cancer but 2. You would think that she would be down and out, sad, and depressed, but not my mom. She told the doctors, I have heard your report, but I choose to believe that this is just another process that the Father is allowing me to go through. She again responded, "God's got me." Since that time, she has already endured 4 rounds of chemo infusions for 5 hours each session, several diagnostic and laparoscopic procedures, with a pending surgery on May 13th. My mom is the strongest person I know. Throughout this entire process, the good days and the not so good days, she has remained strong in her faith and commitment to God and her family. She is still doing all the little things that mothers do for their children and family even though we are all grown. She is definitely our hero and because of her, our faith has been strengthened. She has taught us that in life, sometimes things happen that we would rather not face, but if you hold on to God and stand on his word, you will receive the strength, courage, and patience to make it through.
My mom is indeed special because people who are of other races, spiritual denominations, and backgrounds, have all come together to pray and seek God for her healing and total restoration. She has brought our family together for times of fasting and praying and in total reconciliation to God....It takes someone special to be chosen to endure such physical battles, and to come through victorious knowing that all of these things have worked together for good! Thanks for allowing me to share! Kesha Atkinson-Howell