My Testimony

On April 21, 2008, my first-born child, Adam was born. He was one of the most precious gifts God gave us, and loved by so many. From the first day he was born, I would sing several songs to him daily, but his favorite song we would sing together was, “You Are My Sunshine.” He loved to smile, loved to watch Mickey Mouse, loved trains, the color purple, loved to run, go fishing, and loved to eat gummy bears. He was very independent and full of life! We dedicated him to the Lord at our home church, Lee Street Baptist in Enterprise, AL before turning one.

The morning of May 21, 2010 (he was 2 years and 1 month old), as I was dropping him off at my mom’s house, I remember kneeling down on the front porch and getting a huge hug and kiss from him, and we both said, “I love you,” then he went into the living room to watch Mickey Mouse. My mother told him she was going to the bedroom to gather the dirty clothes to bring to the laundry room, that she would be right back. When she finished, which only took her a minute or two, she went back into the living room, only to see Adam not sitting there. She thought he was just hiding, and looked everywhere inside. After several minutes of searching, even though his shoes were by the door, and all doors were secure, she went outside to look. Still, no sign of Adam. A short time later, I received a phone call at work (I was working for an attorney’s office at the time). When I picked up the phone, the fear in my mom’s voice was a sound I will never forget. She said Adam was missing. Words can’t adequately describe how I felt at that moment. I was numb. She said she had already made contact with the police, and that they were on their way. I do not remember how I drove home from work, but I made it, and began looking in the woods with others near the pond. The whole time, I had a gut feeling; a mothers instinct, that he was in the pond. While searching in the woods behind their home, my dad and I just happened to look towards the pond, and we see a white container floating under the dock.

Back-story: A few weeks prior to this day, my dad had purchased several ducks to live near the pond. Every afternoon, when my dad would get home from work, my dad and Adam would fill the white container with feed at the barn beside the house, walk to the pond together behind the house, and feed them from the dock. When they finished feeding the ducks, my dad would clean out the bucket by filling it with pond water, then would dump it out. Then they would walk back to the barn, and put the white container up.

When I saw that white container floating, that is when I told the officers I felt that’s where he was. Dallas Boyd (our hero and angel on earth), who was off work that day, and is a certified scuba diver, heard my mom call out for him. Dallas got on his gear, and proceeded to get in the pond. In a matter of minutes, our whole world would forever change. Dallas found Adam at the bottom of the pond, under the dock. I began to scream out, “Why Lord, please don’t take my baby!” Indescribable heartache. When we got to the hospital, we were told there was nothing left they could do. All the thoughts going through my mind were, why God would take our baby. Adam was so very well loved and taken care of. He had his whole life ahead of him. We should not be burying our son. All of these thoughts were flooding through my mind. We then were approached by Brian Sims from the Alabama Organ Donor Association via phone (the same name as my husband’s) and we were asked if we would like to donate his heart valves and bone marrow, which would save the lives of two children. After talking it over with my husband privately for a few minutes, we agreed to donate, to give two other children life. I then held Adam’s lifeless body for hours as we waited for him to be taken to the Alabama Organ Donor Association Center. When they arrived, we sent him with his favorite stuffed animal, Mickey Mouse, and kissed him bye. The next day or two we met at the funeral home, to make arrangements.

God had me leading the music at Hebron for several years to give me my confidence back to prepare me for what God had planned for my life to glorify HIM through my tragedy. I never would have imagined I’d be telling the world my story a few years later. He was working out the details and writing my story. A testimony that offers encouragement and inspires others to not give up hope no matter what you face. To keep the faith and cling to God, because He will never leave you nor forsake you as it states in Deuteronomy 31:6. God brought me out of the bottom of the valley, and got me back singing when I felt I had nothing left in me for years! There is Victory in Jesus! That is why it is so important to have faith and wait on God’s timing. Be patient, obedient, serve and honor Him, and the blessings will unfold. His time is always perfect.

When I graduated college in 2020, I began working for a wonderful school system. Teaching Kindergarten has been a blessing to me, and I enjoy getting to use my talents in the classroom. I also started a choir program for third through fifth grade voluntarily. In 2023, I decided to enter the Alabama Music Association singing competition under the category of Traditional Gospel and won Adult Female Entertainer and Female Vocalist of the Year. From there, I advanced to compete at the North America Country Music Association held at the Country Tonight Theatre in Pigeon Forge, TN. On March 18, 2024, I was awarded Adult Female Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year for Traditional Gospel. That is where God would send Johnathan Bond in my path to guide me to start telling my testimony, and help co-write my first single, “Let Me Tell You,” which is now platinum with over a million streams, and has been number one in Australia. More singles being released in 2025 to include my first album! In April of 2024, my ministry began.

During Adam’s funeral, held at Lee Street Baptist Church, you could feel the presence of God, the Holy Spirit was so heavy during the service! Even though our hearts were indescribably shattered, we were standing up and praising God through our tragedy. God gave my family and I strength, and He held us with his righteous right hand as it states in Isaiah 41:10. With God’s strength, completely unplanned, I sang, “You Are My Sunshine” a cappella to him during his service. Losing Adam completely changed our whole life, but we never turned away from God. Matter of fact, we clinged to God and each other more than ever in our time of grief and need. We went through stages of grief, but never once did we lose our faith in God. Having faith does not make things easy, it makes things possible, and nothing is impossible with God as it states in Luke 1:37.

Looking back, we believe Adam wanted to surprise his paw-paw and feed the ducks before he got home, because Adam was so independent. When he finished feeding the ducks, we believe he bent down to fill the container up with water, mimicking how he watched his paw-paw do it, not realizing it would be heavy, and fell over. Adam loved watching the ducks splash the water every afternoon, as they would feed them, and often would say, “dat funny pawpaw.”

The one thing I did stop doing after Adam passed away, I stopped singing for over 6 years. God gives us gifts to use to glorify Him, but in my time of mourning, I had no interest in singing because my heart was so broken. Even though I was grieving, I never once stopped serving God through it all, I just served God in other ways besides singing. That next year, April of 2011, God blessed us with another little boy, Bryson, who has put so much joy back into our lives. When Bryson started Kindergarten, I decided to go back to school to become a teacher, and finish what I started right out of high school in 2002. My dream has always been to become a teacher, but it was never the right time, so I trusted the Lord, and waited on Him, if it was in His will. Proverbs 3:5-6 states: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.