Have you ever been in a position of continually crying out to God, asking Him why and how? Have you been brought to your knees by so much pain and you wonder if He's even listening? Pain and depression changes you from the inside out. You become someone you do not recognize. Happiness and enjoyment are raped from your life and you're left with misery, anger, and doubt. God, why am I so sick? What did I do so wrong? Why am I being punished? Are you even listening to me?


Sophia McCray knows these questions quite well, as she has asked them all, herself. Sometimes, the pain was so severe that she laid in tears praying for relief. Instead of daily requests, sometimes it was hourly.


Being a mother, coupled with a diagnosis of lupus, has been the most difficult thing to deal with in her life, but also, it has been the most faith-fulfilling. God knows about all her failures and all her mistakes. He knows the very number of hairs on her head. Now, she can make the statement:
"I know I am important to God."


Is the burden of pain and depression trying on your faith? Your testimony can be a provocation of hope for another, and a doorway to His gracious gifts.