Gentlewoman, Priscilla Gonzalez

I’m excited to introduce you to my next Gentlewoman, Priscilla Gonzalez.  I met Priscilla earlier this year at my church’s women’s group, Flavour Sisterhood.  A month or two ago, we became friends on Facebook and I found out that Priscilla had lost her oldest son, Fabian in a car accident last year.  Knowing that she had lost a son really shocked me because if you know Priscilla you will know that this woman wears a constant smile on her face.  She is devoted to church and you can see her and her family there every Sunday.  She shows no sign of defeat; in fact, she exudes this strength in her presence.  Priscilla exemplifies the true meaning of being a Christian in my eyes.  Her faith cannot be shaken.  I am so proud to call her a friend and I am honored to call her a sister.

Just this week I received a daily devotional from Greg Laurie.  The subject line read, “Trusting in the Dark Times”.  After I read the email, I knew this would be a great intro to Priscilla’s GW blog post.  I loved it so much I wanted to share with you all.

 God wants us to experience joy as believers—not a fickle happiness that depends on circumstances or changes with the wind direction, but a joy that remains in spite of what may be taking place around you.

Anyone can be relatively happy when things are going well. But when you face adversity or sickness or hardship and then rejoice, you show that something supernatural has occurred in your life. In fact, you show yourself to be a real Christian. This is a unique trait of believers—that we can rejoice when things go wrong.

How do we do it? We find the key in Philippians 4:4: "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!" Paul didn't say to rejoice in circumstances. Rather, he said to rejoice in the Lord. In other words, God is still on the throne. You're still going to heaven. You're still forgiven. God still has a plan for your life; He has not abandoned you. We need to take joy in the Lord always. That is the key. I recognize that in spite of what I may be going through right now, His plans for me are still good. And He will never leave or forsake me.

Priscilla Gonzalez

For those people who don’t you, can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

I’m Priscilla Gonzalez, married with three children.  My husband is my high school sweetheart and our children are our greatest accomplishment. We have a son that recently passed from this life to be with our Savior.

Losing a child has to be one of the hardest difficulties to endure. I cannot even begin to fathom the pain, loss, and never ending void that comes along with it.  Can you tell my readers what exactly happened on that fateful Friday night in 2013?

Fabian met his maker in April 2013 and our lives have not been the same since. He was speeding trying to meet his curfew and lost control of the vehicle.

When I found out that you were a mother who had lost her son, honestly, I was completely shocked.  You had been a part of my Flavour bible study group and never once brought it up.  You have always had this smile on your face and never looked like a woman that was defeated.  How were you able to stand, and continue to stand with an invisible armor while still grieving the loss of your son?

I take it day by day, sometimes minute by minute. God renews my strength each day, it’s nothing that I’ve done or can do but it’s what He can do through me. Christ has truly covered me with a blanket of peace, protection and hope.

Sometimes we don’t realize what we have until it’s too late.  What advice do you have for all the parents out there who get caught up in the struggle of raising and disciplining their kids versus enjoying and cherishing their kids in the present moment?

I would say that parents have to truly have a heart for raising their children. I mean be intentional about being available to them. Being a good parent is hard work especially when you add a full-time job, cooking, cleaning, and all the other chores, it gets exhausting. But our children need us; they thrive on our attention and approval. We have to keep in mind that they are a gift from God and should be treated as such.

I truly believe that all things work for good for those who believe.  Looking back on this past year, what has been the light in the darkness?

Involvement in our church and love for others has been ignited within us. We have seen Fabian’s friends attend church and worship with us. Our family fully grasps that life is fragile and our days are numbered so we choose to not focus on the petty things in life. The love I have for my husband is so deep and genuine. Of course I would have rather those things come about a different way but I can accept that all we have gone through and continue to go through is God’s perfect will for our lives.  I know that if we keep our faith in Christ we will be reunited with Fabian again. I have hope.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

You know sometimes advice is not spoken to you directly but indirectly through someone’s actions. My mother has always prayed for her children. So I take that unspoken advice and pray for my children without ceasing. I remember my mother dropping me off at school and I could hear her praying for me under her breath. I was a teenager with a son which tells you I was not the perfect daughter but my mother didn’t care she kept on praying for me and I believe that made all the difference in my life.

What are your dreams?

My hope is to raise kingdom children and my dream is to be reunited with Fabian. I long for the days when my family can be whole again.

Who inspires you and why?

My pastor Ed Young and his wife Lisa Young inspire me to have a thriving marriage and to put my husband before my children (which is hard for me to do sometimes). They also inspire me to serve because if I’m not serving I’m swerving…my Fellowship Church family will get that ;)

Pastor Tony Evans inspires me to raise my children with a purpose and to have a kingdom agenda mind-set.

What do you think women in our generation need to hear?

I would like to see women make the most of their current situation. Lots of times we blame others for things that have happened to us but when you have hope in Jesus Christ you can lay all your burdens at his feet and he will carry the load for you. Sit back, evaluate your situation and refocus on what truly matters.

What are you most proud of?

I’m most proud of how our family came together to help raise Fabian. You know the saying it takes a village to raise a child, well that’s true in this case. We didn’t know what we were doing as teen parents but with our family’s help we raised a respectful, ambitious, and intelligent young man. Now with those skills that we learned we will raise our other children the same way.