The Hands of God That Carry Me ~ Overcoming with Power of Faith and Resilience

God's Warrior Woman ~ Wendy's Story

Have you ever had a time when your life was turned completely upside down?

That was me in 2011. I had a beautiful life with a great husband and three busy teenagers. I was a work-at-home mom with a home business that I loved. One evening during one of my kids weekly activities, I started to feel what I thought were flu symptoms, however I had an unusual swelling on my upper thigh.

Two days later when I couldn't support myself enough to walk, we knew it was time to go to the hospital.

My last memory included an oxygen mask covering my face. 

The doctors diagnosed my condition and told my family that I had less than a 1% chance of survival and to prepare their goodbyes.

The swelling on my leg turned out to be Necrotizing Fasciitis (AKA flesh eating bacteria.). But this was not the end.

This is my story of faith, hope, and the power of prayer. 

Even in our darkest moments, God orchestrates beauty from pain, turning what we perceive as the worst events into avenues for His divine purpose.

My husband replied to Dr. Death “You don't know my God, and what He’s capable of.” He asked them to do everything they could, while he put the request out for prayers.

For the next 3 weeks, I slept in a medically induced coma. In that time doctors performed an operation to remove the bacteria as it spread through my body. Eventually sepsis kicked in and my internal organs began to shut down. The only way to save my life was to amputate both hands and feet.

God had answered the prayers of the hundreds who prayed for me, despite the fact that it came with a cost.

The sight of bandages where my hands and feet had been my first memory after I woke up from my coma.

So, I prayed to the only ONE who I knew could help me.  Up until that point I've never prayed Scripture back to God before, but that day I did. 

I recalled my favorite Scriptures from Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV which says,  

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.”

I poured my heart out to God and told Him that I would trust Him with all my heart, and that I wouldn’t try to figure out how to do it all on my own, because I understood that to be impossible. But if I were to seek and follow the Lord, I knew He would guide me. I was never angry at God because I know and believe that all things are done for my good and His glory.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (KJV)

I spent two months in the hospital and another month in rehab learning how to live without some pretty essential body parts.  Three months later in my wheelchair rental, I rolled through the front door to start a brand new life. I had the prosthetics I needed to walk again. But life as I knew it, wasn't possible with prosthetic hands. 

I needed to learn a new way of doing things, a different way. My hand prosthetics were proven to be useless, at least for me, so I opted to go without.

When you lose your legs, they make new ones and life goes on.  But when you lose your hands, it's a whole different ball game. 

"When you lose your legs, replacements can be made, and life moves forward. But losing your hands? That changes the entire playing field."

Suddenly, I could no longer cook, clean or do laundry for my family.  I couldn't even dress or shower myself.  I felt like I could no longer fulfill my role as wife and mom to my kids in their teen years, at a critical time when they needed me the most.

I was lost.

My family never saw me as handicapped, and they encouraged me to try new things. But my new favorite word became “can't.” I was wrapped up in sadness and a pity party and couldn't see the forest for the trees.

However, I continued to work on my spiritual growth. I spent a lot of time in prayer and Bible study. I built my gratitude habit and stayed as positive and optimistic as I could.

On the outside, I always had a smile on my face. Hurting inside, I just couldn't figure out what to do next.

Fast forward seven years…my daughter, 21 at the time, approached me with a crazy ideal.  She wanted to go to the nearby river to go tubing with her mother. I thought she had lost her marbles. Instead, it became the turning point in my pity party.

We had a great day! While floating we started dreaming about all the adventures, I could now partake in. I had accomplished river rafting, so of course, overly confident, I was sure that I could go horseback riding and sky diving too.

 The years of spiritual and emotional growth all led me up to this moment in time - my breakthrough, and I was more than ready.

The decision to step out of my comfort zone was the wake-up call I needed because it proved to me that I was capable of so much more than I was giving myself credit for. Over the years I'd had many requests to share my story.  But it wasn't until that adventure that I could finally see the big picture and God’s plan for my life. 

When we share our stories, it helps us to heal. And it helps us to heal faster when we can see how our story inspires growth in others. Since I struggled in my pity party for so long, there must be other women stuck in theirs.

The next day my blog, One Exceptional Life was born.

I wrote about the things that I focused on in those years, Bible study, prayer, gratitude, joy, positivity, and inspiring others through acts of kindness.  These were the things that helped prepare me to have that complete 180° change that I experienced that day in the river adventure.

Through sharing my story, I came to understand the purpose of why I had to go through my illness and amputations. 

You wouldn't think the worst thing that could ever happen to you would turn out to be a blessing. 

But it truly has. Because today I'm living out God's purpose for me as we’re told in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 KJV.

“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”

Sometimes we can consider our life to be completely upside down.

But if we look through the lens of God's perspective, what we might consider to be negative and tragic, can ultimately be one of the greatest blessings of our lives.

 The Warrior Woman's Handbook

Make sure you check back next week for another Warrior Woman!

You Are An Overcomer!

You are not alone; God created you in His image, which means you have power and authority.  He has equipped you with His strength and boldness. I would love to connect more and give you a FREE gift - The Warrior Woman Workbook: Overcoming Through the Power of Prayer and Fasting. 

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The Warrior Women Series will offer motivation and inspiration through heartfelt stories, illustrating that you can overcome challenges through the powerful combination of prayer and fasting.



Wendy Wallace is a wife, mom, Christian Living & Positivity coach, Inspirational Blogger at One Exceptional Life. She loves spending time with her family, talking to her flowers, and eating lots of ice cream. She is also a quadruple amputee. A flesh-eating bacterial infection resulted in a coma, 3-month hospital stay, and amputations of both hands and both feet. What you might consider the worst thing that could possibly happen, actually was for her good and God's glory. By God's wonderful grace, she is living "One Exceptional Life" where, in true form with 2 Corinthians 1:4, “God comforted her in all her tribulations so that she can comfort, and encourage other women to rediscover God’s joy and peace amid the trials of life.

You can connect with Wendy at  her website, One Exceptional Life, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest. Enjoy this free ebook from Wendy, From Struggle to Joy: Biblical Comfort for Finding Peace in Life's Challenges.