But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

“I grew up doing all the ‘right’ things, but I’ve been brought low. Now I have faith and see God has been busy reshaping my life.”

Intentional Faith administrative assistant, Brenda Moore, by most accounts, had a privileged upbringing. Extremely bright and motivated, she grew up in a loving two-parent household, lived in a very comfortable home, attended great schools and was well-churched. Her father was even a pastor.

“I attended college, got degrees, landed great jobs and climbed the ladder, but I HAVE been through a lot—domestic abuse, cervical spinal stenosis, neck surgery, repossession, homelessness….”

Moore, born in Detroit, Michigan, came to the South with her family to help care for her ailing grandmother in Mississippi. She developed her life there in Meridian, graduating from Meridian Community College with a degree in industrial maintenance. She was raising 5 children, but eventually fled to Alabama when domestic abuse became intolerable.

“I literally tossed a coin in the air to choose where to go. It was between Alabama and Tennessee. We moved to Birmingham,” she said.

Moore, gifted in management, rose in prominence in various retail companies and made an enviable living. She also continued her education and gained an associate’s degree in applied science. Tragedy struck with the diagnosis of spinal stenosis, the narrowing of the spinal canal and resulting debilitating symptoms. Surgery followed. Moore persevered. Having overcome this, Moore was floored when doctors diagnosed her with multiple sclerosis in 2015.

“I was angry—angry at everything in life! I felt I did nothing to deserve this,” she said.

“My life drastically changed. When I got that diagnosis, my job defined me. I was a workaholic. It took me two years to accept that God had a plan. It was a slow process.”

Moore became disabled with MS symptoms in 2018 and had to leave her full-time job. She stumbled upon Christian Women’s Job Corps this year and entered that program. She started at Intentional Faith through the internship program with CWJC.

“It’s been an eye-opener to be with such a variety of people here, at Intentional Faith, with such varied backgrounds, yet they have a common goal and are all so God-filled,” she said.

“Intentional Faith has been a God-given direction for me.”

Moore still undergoes daily battles with MS symptoms, but she is philosophical about her struggles and hangs onto two scriptures, Philippians 4:19 and I Corinthians 10:13.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:

but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able;

but will with the temptation also make a way to escape,

that ye may be able to bear it.

I Corinthians 10:13

“My renewed faith has given me much more appreciation for what I have in life. My life is still being refined, but now it’s God that’s leading me. You know, a person can overcome any situation. It doesn’t have to define you,” she said.

“I now define myself by what God wants me to be.”

If you want to assist others in finding and refining their God-given direction for their lives, connect with us at IFHSV.com, Facebook or LinkedIn.

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