“God Has a Blessing with Your Name on It”

There’s a gospel song that says, “God has a blessing with your name on it.” For years, I sang it each morning as I woke my grandchildren—an 8-year-old I was raising permanently, a six-year-old, and a 16-month-old, both children of my late daughter, Nikki, whom we lost in 2023. That song wasn’t just a melody; it became a declaration of faith through every challenging season.

Back then, I was working at a daycare across from our building while trying to earn my Early Childhood Education credentials. It was demanding—caring for a classroom by day, raising three grieving, energetic children by night—but God provided strength, mercy, and unexpected joy. He even brought a group of Christian women into my life via the internet, strangers who became sisters. They mailed clothes, cassette tapes of preachers and comedians, and sweet gifts that uplifted me in lonely moments.

Among my grandchildren, Michael stood out early for his spiritual hunger. I promised God I’d be a better grandmother to him than I had been a mother during my years of struggle and survival. That vow stayed with me. I prayed over him faithfully, sent him to Christian summer camps, and watched in awe as he became a camp counselor by 13—preaching to peers and drawing them to Christ.

But no testimony is without trial. At 16, Michael stumbled—lured into sin by a woman who boasted about corrupting him. I turned to my church family, and we fought in prayer. Men from the church laid hands on his room and devices, and God restored him. That season became part of his powerful testimony.

I never stopped praying about getting him into a Christian school. Years later, I discovered Maranatha Christian Academy. Their curriculum was Christ-centered and excellent—but far out of our financial reach. I clung to scriptures like Jeremiah 29:11 and 1 Corinthians 2:9. Then one day, a child from my daycare pointed to a package on the floor and said, “Miss Zenobia, it has your name on it.” It was from Maranatha—a DVD about their school.

That DVD sparked a fire. I wrote them a nine-page letter. Soon after, they called us for an interview, and God moved mightily. Michael was granted an $11,550 scholarship and enrolled. He later graduated with honors and, though he lost his father shortly after, God was not done blessing.

He met and married Alison, another Maranatha graduate. They now have two daughters—Brielle and Aria—and recently faced immense struggles: job loss, illness, financial strain. But God held them. Michael went back to school, got his IT degree, and last week, applied to work at Maranatha.

Yesterday, he told me he was hired—as their IT tech—and his daughters are now set to attend Maranatha at a reduced cost.

That’s a full circle blessing, sisters.

God truly had our names on it—then, now, and forever.