Romans 8:18: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Not knowing that this scripture would be the testimony of my life, it easily became one of my favorites. Raised in Compton, California, I was the youngest girl of five siblings. Even though our family was large, we lived a great life. My mothered worked as a registered nurse, while my father was an aluminum worker. Living in California, I knew that Hollywood was the place for me. I set high hopes on becoming a movie star or finding an occupation dealing with teeth. While it seemed I had life all planned out, something I didn’t plan was losing my father when I was 13. My father was shot and killed as an innocent bystander – a life changing event that surely wouldn’t be the last in my life.
After my father’s death, my family and I relocated to another city in California that required me to change schools. In high school, I was a competitive gymnast and was also pretty good at softball. My dream of being a TV superstar never took off, but my interest in dentistry skyrocketed. At a young age, I was accepted into an assistant dental program, which was a once-in-a-lifetime chance that very few people my age got. The tools I gained from this program helped me excel in the field of dentistry. In addition, it allowed me to excel in a dentistry company that I would soon own. All these great things were happening to me, and I had just graduated from high school, but you know how life goes … too many great things can’t happen without something bad also occurring. Right before college, I got pregnant and was terrified. At the time, I thought being pregnant at such a young age was a bad thing; but my grandmother reassured me that having a child was a blessing. She and my mother told me I would get through it because God would never put more on me than I could bear. They were right. Being pregnant, my relationship with God grew tremendously ,and through it all, I completed the Long Beach State Dental Assistant program. Soon after, I moved to Georgia with my husband. At only 25, I started my very own dental staff assistant program. Looking from the outside in, one would say that I had the perfect life, but it was far from that. What people didn’t see was I was a victim of abuse. Out of a 20-year relationship, 13 of those years I was physically and verbally abused by my husband. This was something I had no idea how to escape, and I didn’t understand why God would put me through this. But these trials I went through would soon become my purpose and testimony.
It wasn’t until one day when a student I trained found me beat unconscious on my basement floor that I gained the strength to leave my husband. My husband threatened to kill me, and he took everything, including all of my money. Leaving him was another trial that helped me grow closer to God. Also, it gave me the strength and courage to help others who’d been through similar situations. Thus, the birth of another business venture entitled Culping with Life Ministries. I knew that Culping with Life Ministries was God’s purpose for me. Throughout my life, I endured so much and still made it out victorious. I knew my purpose was to help other people realize the same thing; the trials they may go through don’t last long, and they can still make it out victorious. I remember one of my clients who went through a horrible crisis. He had just lost his wife in a deadly car crash and couldn’t function. He wouldn’t go out, talk to other people or even eat. He was an extreme introvert, and my job was to get him to be an extrovert. One day, I got him out the house. The plan was to go to a concert just as friends, but before the concert, we had dinner and realized we had a lot in common. We were practically the same person. We were in such awe of each other, we didn’t even make it to the concert. Come to find out, he actually didn’t like concerts, and eventually, we started dating.
Coincidentally, three days after we started dating, I was on the way to a wedding, and he looked at me and said, “I’m not dating you anymore because you’re not the dating type.” Yes … I just got engaged. And months later, I had the fairy tale wedding every woman dreams of. We’ve been happily married ever since. I now see how everything that happened in my life was all according to God’s plan. In life, we might not understand why certain things happen to us, but if we remain faithful in God and trust his timing, we will always be victorious.
Since then, I’ve answered my call into the ministry. I will bring my first sermon to receive my license as a Minister of the Gospel this early November. Thus, the birth of another business venture entitled The JOB Life Coach. My bonus blessing (husband) Ralph and I were able to purchase an eight-acre retreat in Stone Mountain, Ga., where we created the ultimate atmosphere for individuals to get unstuck, along with our Impact Team Building Institute eight miles away from our Culping With Life Ministries retreat. This is where the magic happens for employers to bring their team to get unstuck and become more productive in their home and work life. Studies have shown that if your home life is troubled, the chances of your productivity at work being affected are far greater.