accident

“Not Without God: Hope In the Storm!”✨📖♥️

Here is the link to my Facebook live I just did this evening with an excerpt from my latest book, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm! ♥️🙏☦️

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=754441265847157&id=1514758298

About Zina

Zina Hermez has authored the best-selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. She’s been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. She’s recently been featured on the Intuitive Edge podcast! She’s also been on ESPN’s “Solutions from the Huddle” broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World! Zina’s written several hundred articles and has taught thousands of students of all ages from many different backgrounds and cultures. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog, and the Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She also writes on health and diet and loves to help others. Her latest book, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm is live and for sale! You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Without-God-Hope-Storm-ebook/dp/B09P9T2DLT

He Will Deliver You!♥️

This is so true. At sixteen years old, I began a search. I was searching for God. I knew his presence was there and felt him with me daily, but I wanted to understand more about him and life. I was confused. How could he be so good but life be so dim at times? Then I was met with an accident. A very bad (vehicle) related accident. It all became clear. I experienced his loving-kindness through the others working to save my life.❤️ I felt his presence in an even more profound way and learned that light✨ will always outweigh any darkness. Hope is a never-ending song that can not be diminished. Love is more powerful than you think. I learned, that with God we can overcome anything no matter how bad the circumstances.❤️ When I couldn’t predict the future or even how many more breaths I would take, God delivered me. Not only did he save my life but he made me triumphant. Our God is more than just a healer. He is a deliverer! He will deliver you from the worst of times!✨❤️🕊

About Zina

Zina Hermez has authored the best selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. She’s been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. She’s been featured on ESPN’s ‘Solutions from the Huddle’ broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World. Zina’s written more than 500 articles and has taught thousands of students from all over the world spanning many different backgrounds and cultures. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog, and the Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She also writes on health and diet and loves to help others. Her latest book, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm is live and for sale! You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Without-God-Hope-Storm-ebook/dp/B09P9T2DLT

Not Without God: A Story of Survival

My book, Not Without God, is about a catastrophic accident I was in at sixteen- years-old that left me paralyzed. While trying to cross the street on my way to school, I was hit by a car. I had to be taken via ambulance to the local hospital, Botsford, but the facility didn’t have the technology or scope to save me, so they sent me to a level-one trauma hospital by helicopter. I went to Mott Children’s Hospital on the “Survival Life Flight” at the University of Michigan.

That was where I went into 12 hours of emergency surgery. The doctors were able to save my life. The Lord was working through them, of course. I had severe injuries. My spine had shifted and broken at the thoracic level (T10-11). I had a fracture in my C1 vertebrae and had to wear a neck brace for a few weeks while in the hospital. I had internal bleeding, my ribs were broken, and my tibias and fibias were shattered in both legs. I had to learn how to walk again through an extensive amount of physical therapy, thousands of hours or more.

It’s a huge miracle that I’m alive and able to walk at all. I use AFOs (an ankle-to-foot orthosis) and forearm crutches. Although I’m not walking as well as I would like, I am grateful for how far I’ve come. Some medical professionals predicted I’d never walk at all. I had to stay at the hospital for a little over three months. The nurses in the hospital thought I was happy because I was going home soon. They made sure to send me home just before my birthday, and they’d come into the room and say, “Aren’t you happy to be going home?” They had wide smiles and their eyes glowed.

What they didn’t know is I was terrified inside. I didn’t want to go back into the real world. I knew it would be difficult for my family to take care of me. I didn’t know how friends would receive me now that I was handicapped. I was the one who used to pick friends up and take them out. I was active before the accident. I was on the Multicultural & Multiracial Diversity council at school that year.

The teachers and administrators were always pleased with my wise comments.
A large assembly was to be held in our gym with all the students on the council, their parents, and the other students in the school, teachers, and principals were all going to be in the audience. Unfortunately, I never got to attend the assembly. My accident happened just before it, on Oct. 18, 1994. I was told that all the parents, teachers, and students, stood up and applauded in honor of me though when my principle made mention of me.

I was so sad I missed the assembly. I didn’t get to be in school with my friends or be there for the big day we were preparing for. However, I have learned that through life’s tragedies there will always be blessings. Light and dark are opposite, and so are pain and peace. Peace does come no matter how big the tragedy. You find your way, somehow, you may experience days of anguish. You may be suffering mentally or physically for months. God has a way of carrying away your pain. It’s often through no effort of your own.

You have to have faith for him to help. You have to look to him for guidance. He will send the right people, experiences, situations, and friends to help. Slowly you will heal. It may be a long process. You will be restored though. There will be new challenges and new setbacks, and there may even be new tragedies. God will be there every time, in your loneliness, he will comfort you, and in your sadness, he will console you.

He is a God who never sleeps. You have access to him 24 hours a day and all you have to do is call on his name. It can be a simple prayer. Just before I was hit by a car, I called out to God, “Lord, please help.” Those three words were the last thing I remember saying before I woke up on a hospital bed. I had never been hospitalized so I didn’t even know where I was. God healed me each day, little by little. When everything was unpredictable, he gave me life, he helped me walk again and live.

I had new opportunities, new blessings, and new beautiful experiences. That is just God’s way. He is one of restoration and hope.

I’m looking forward to the blessings that will come from my second book and most of all, it will be nice to reach out to more people. Tomorrow I will be featured on ESPN’s “Solutions from the Huddle” and interviewed on a podcast show. I’ll talk about my book, experiences, business, and life. I’m looking forward to it, and I hope that I can touch more lives and help more people!

About Zina

Zina Hermez authored the best-selling book “Not Without God: A Story of Survival.” Her stories have been featured in various guest articles, medical journals, magazines, newsletters, and over 500 of her blog articles. As an educator for more than twenty years, she’s had the privilege of working with thousands of students from different backgrounds and parts of the world. Her latest book, “Not Without God: Hope In the Storm” will be out later this year. Her writing endeavors earned her an invitation to speak at the Harvard Faculty Club’s “Business Expert Forum.” Zina’s goal is to help others overcome adversity, and she strives to do what she longs to–help other people. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Southern Writers magazine, and the Suite T blog, among other places. Socializing with friends, taking business trips, listening to music, and meeting new people are among her hobbies. She’s also been featured on Color Speak (a Grace and Truth Radio World! podcast) and on ESPN’s Solutions from the Huddle broadcast! You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, or Twitter.

My latest interview!

Please listen to my latest podcast interview on my story, God, faith, and even science! We discuss the accident I was in as a teenager, how I overcame, the theory of relativity, entanglement, more physics, and much more! It will also be on Grace and Truth Radio World! I hope you enjoy it! ~Zina🖤🎤🙏

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1213343/8606536

About Zina

Zina Hermez authored the best-selling book, “Not Without God: A Story of Survival.” Her stories have been featured in various guest articles, medical journals, magazines, newsletters, and over 250 of her own blog articles. As an educator for more than twenty years, she’s had the privilege of working with thousands of students from different backgrounds and parts of the world. Her upcoming book, “Not Without God: Hope In the Storm” will be out later this year. Her writing endeavors earned her an invitation to speak at the Harvard Faculty Club’s “Business Expert Forum.” Zina’s goal is to help others overcome adversity, and she strives to do what she longs to–help other people. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Southern Writers magazine, and Suite T blog among other places. Socializing with friends, taking business trips, listening to music, and meeting new people are among her hobbies. You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter.

I’m someone who wants to maintain a relationship with the Lord!

After the catastrophic accident I was in, I went in a state of denial. I thought my life would go back to the way it was before, ‘normal.’ I thought I would walk again, freely. I thought I would not have to deal with all the pain. My pain has decreased, but my physical challenge has not gone away. I have learned to accept my differences.

I have overcome some grave challenges. Learning how to walk again, when some doctors predicted I wouldn’t has been a huge miracle. I learned how to drive again by nineteen years old. By twenty, I was back to work. I received an Associate in Liberal Arts Degree from the local community college and then received my Bachelor of Arts in English from Oakland University.

Life began to bloom through a different lens. I prayed and prayed, eventually hoped, planned, and had good experiences, again! So, I would like to suggest that you never believe you’ve hit a dead end. Life has a myriad of opportunities that await us. It’s full of new beginnings!

Through this, I have experienced God’s love on a deeper level and gained a more intimate relationship. I have always called out to him, not only in my darkest hours. I like to praise him. Giving thanks is like a weapon. When you thank God for all you’ve got, it not only heals you but gives you more strength. Praise is not something I have to work at. God has brought me through so much. I am grateful.

He is a fortress. It should not have to take a tragedy for you to know that. God is there all the time. He will be the only one we can depend on when everyone else has left. I lost a lot; not only did I have to learn how to adjust, heal, and walk, I also had to learn how to make new friends. God led me through it. Friendships happened again.

* * *

When I finally got out of the hospital and settled at home, I pondered how I would go back to school. I was active before this and took friends out. The favor was not reciprocated. I knew that life would not be easy back then. I wondered what it would be like since I could no longer just stand up and walk. Everything took effort. I had to learn how to do wheelchair transfers, eventually, get up steps, and even exercise muscles that would not move. I had to become a problem solver.

But I give all the glory to God. I have learned that even when we are in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, like I was, it doesn’t have to be the end. Everything is in God’s hands. Sometimes we suffer and there is no way to avoid it. But as it says in the Bible, the greater the sorrow, the more joy you will experience. “Truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy” (John 16:20).

About Zina

Zina Hermez authored “Not Without God: A Story of Survival.” Her stories have been featured in various guest articles, medical journals, magazines, newsletters, and over 200 of her blog posts. As an educator for more than twenty years, she’s had the privilege of working with thousands of students from different backgrounds and parts of the world. Her writing endeavors earned her an invitation to speak at the Harvard Faculty Club’s “Business Expert Forum.” Zina’s goal is to help others overcome adversity, and she strives to do what she longs to–help other people. She’s appeared in Christianity Today and the Southern Writers magazine more than once. Socializing with friends, taking business trips, listening to music, and meeting new people are among her hobbies. You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, or Twitter.

‘Keeping Up With the Chaldeans’ (Not the Kardashians!) Interview

Check it out, everyone! This is my latest candid interview that I did before the stay-at-home orders (over two months ago) with my generous hosts, Anthony Toma, and Junior Binno. Here is the link to the YouTube show: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=keeping+up+with+the+chaldeans Please LIKE and subscribe! It is a MUST watch!

In case you don’t know who the Chaldeans are, they’ve been around since B.C. days and have developed a reputation for learning and knowledge of math, writing, and astronomy. Their greatest king was Nebuchadnezzar, the ruler of the Babylonian empire (from 605-562B.C.), and he was also the creator of one of the Seven Wonders of the World: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Babylonia is also referred to as ‘the land of the Chaldeans’ time and time again in the Bible. We originated in southern Mesopotamia, one of the cradles of civilization (along with India, Egypt, and China). I can speak the language, although, I was born in the U.S. I’m second generation.

I talk about my book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival, and recall my accident and other events including a healing work that was performed on my left arm! There is no greater time than now to watch! This should encourage, inspire, and help. I hope you enjoy it!

About Zina

💕🌇💗

Zina Hermez is the author of the best-selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. Her stories have been featured in Christianity Today, the Southern Writers Magazine, guest blogs, medical journals, and newsletters, among many other places. She’s written a few hundred articles. She’s had the privilege of working with thousands of students from different backgrounds and parts of the world. She’s taught at automotive corporations like General Motors, Ford, Nissan, Bosch, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and has worked with people of all ages. Zina began her own teaching services incorporating math and other subjects. Her writing endeavors earned her an invitation to speak at the Harvard Faculty Club’s “Business Expert Forum.” Her goal is to help others overcome adversity. Socializing with friends, taking trips, baking, listening to music, trying new hairstyles, and networking are among her hobbies. You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Come to God (Now is a better time than ever)!🙏🏻😇🧚

I sought after God at a young age. It wasn’t until my accident happened that I really understood him. I saw Jesus in everyone. I experienced God in the three months I spent in the hospital. As strange as it may seem, for the first time—my life had some meaning.

I was broken, a teenager, I couldn’t predict the future ahead or if I would even survive–I had all these injuries and had become paralyzed. But I understood God on a different level. I was searching for purpose before it.

I had friends, family, lived in a good neighborhood and went to a good school, but I would ask God what life is really about. I knew he was there, but my surroundings had me confused. I felt his presence on a daily basis, but I wanted to understand him better.

As a child, I knew my path would be difficult. He would whisper it to me through secrets in my heart. He also told me that he would never leave me nor forsake me, and that in the end I would be with him forever!

I felt his love as though it were a security blanket while outside on my childhood bike rides. Perhaps I deliberately went outside so much to spend time alone with him. I have always needed him since I was a child.

My time alone with God has always been my peace. It gives me peace☮️, and it is crucial for me. I need to talk with him and pray to figure things out. I am not independent of God. In good times and in bad, I need him. God never leaves us no matter what.

He will be the one listening to us when we need a shoulder to cry on. He will be the one with us when something goes wrong! He will celebrate. He will cry. His love is eternal. He is always there. He cannot change.

God is light.✨ Einstein realized that the speed of light is the only thing that is constant. As a matter of fact, space and time🌌 adjust to light.⚡️ God is light, and he created it. It’s in the Book of Genesis. God cannot change. We have to.🥰

First and foremost, we have to allow him into our hearts. We have free will, so God will not impose his influence. We have to choose him. We are still his children; nonetheless, he won’t impose himself on us.

He is in control, always, and he shines his light on all of us whether or not we are ‘believers.’ But I urge you to choose God. Take a look at what I went through, and he brought me through. Choose God, even in the bad times. He has a plan for you.

The bible says, ‘I am the Lord who continuously heals you.’ That means healing is not a one time thing, it is not a one time event. God heals us continuously. I have never fully recovered since my accident, but God continuously heals me, and I am healthy!

God created science. God created medicine. My doctors saved my life!👨‍🔬 We have to listen to them and take their wise instruction! I hope for everyone to have this kind of knowledge. God is a fortress and a healer. He truly is our friend.

You never know how your life will turn out. I never expected to grow up with a physical challenge, but I am blessed to have this knowledge. He will come in when everyone else has gone out. He will come in when your life is too much to bear. He will pick you up, and save you! His love cannot fail.

About Zina

94659C19-FFC3-4E00-9234-CA473820D764 — In New York City getting ready to attend a three-day-conference last September!💕🌇💗

COVID-19 outbreak, God, and you!😇💙🌏

In a country that is now the epicenter for the Corona Virus, we must be wondering how we got here. Some like to blame others. Either way, the numbers are growing, and when you wake up tomorrow, they will be larger, in a few days, they may even double! It is a scary time to be a citizen. It is a scary time to be on earth!

But here is some real-talk. God never promised us an easy life, or one without trials. He did promise he would never leave or forsake us, with him, we can get through this. We can smile in the midst of pain, we can hold our head up in the hour of uncertainty, we can laugh, again, and we can praise him all the while during these dire moments.

The love of God is the peace that surpasses all understanding. Many believe that if there is a God he would not allow us to suffer; however, suffering must exist. A suffering world does not mean that God doesn’t. It is the nature of human kind since the first sin of Adam that caused even death. However, Jesus is the second Adam, he is the life-giving one!

I suggest you give your life to him. I am not standing in judgement or claiming that I don’t mess up! I am praying to stay on a ‘faith-path,’ and this path of faith does require me to be patient. I am trying to stay on a ‘trusting God path,’ also, because that is all I can do right now. There are some things that are just out of our control.

God does give us free will, though, and the ability to make decisions. He doesn’t always know the outcome, but he does know all the possibilities of what can happen. He is the greatest chess player! He knows all the ways something can turn out. He is praying for us, but does not imposes his will. If he did, he would not be God, after all, because he promised us free will.

He stands and knocks at the door. We have to open it. We have to adhere to him. We have to ask him to lead us and guide us. We have to imagine his presence is there, because it is. This is a culture that teaches us to not use our imagination, and to only depend on our five senses, but if we continue to do so, we are rejecting God. We can ONLY see him through our imagination!

Scientists have even proven, our imagination is not a vehicle we can choose to use while on this planet, it is the vehicle through which we think! What are you imagining right now? Are you imagining love, a bright future, peace for all man-kind? What are you imagining? Are you letting the fear of the world take common place? Imagine a God who loves you so much that he died to redeem your soul!

Whenever, I have tried to depend on my self or on others, I have failed every time. God sits, he waits, he listens. He is a loving father. We can have a direct connection, and what is more beautiful than that? It starts in your intuition. Are my words resonating, yet? If they are, take my advice. No happiness on earth can compare to what the Lord can give you.

No big house, no nice car, no amount of children, nor wealth, nothing can compare to how much God loves you and to what he has prepared. Mansions in heaven! Heaven is a wondrous place that you cannot even fathom. Earth is where moth and rust destroy, and we have pesticides here. But set your mind on things above; not on earthy things, for we are only here for a time. doc with wings

I learned at a young age how man-kind can save your life through wisdom and knowledge. I was in a catastrophic accident that most would never live through, but God saved me through doctors and through medicine. In a culture where we are taught that individualism is important, we need each other now more than ever. I was only sixteen, and those doctors did everything! The odds were against me, but I called out to him in my dark hours.

Things can turn for the better now so long as we listen to our leaders and scientists. God whispers the secrets of the earth within their hearts. We have to respect one another. If we don’t it is not doing us any good right now. I have been in a hospital bed, on a ventilator, unable to eat solid food and fighting for my life. It is the miracle of medicine that healed me, and medicine is a miracle I will never take for granted.

Neither should you. We are all called to this hour. This is about more than politics, this is about more than the left or the right. This is about more than religion. This is about you and God! Make the right decisions!

About Zina

D57F8DF5-424C-41DF-B4FE-FD3D1A6EB58A
Zina Hermez is the author of the best-selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. Her stories have been featured in Christianity Today, the Southern Writers Magazine, guest blogs, medical journals, and newsletters, among many other places. She’s written a few hundred articles. She’s had the privilege of working with thousands of students from different backgrounds and parts of the world. She’s taught at automotive corporations like General Motors, Ford, Nissan, Bosch, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and has worked with people of all ages. Zina began her own teaching services incorporating math and other subjects. Her writing endeavors earned her an invitation to speak at the Harvard Faculty Club’s “Business Expert Forum.” Her goal is to help others overcome adversity. Socializing with friends, taking trips, baking, listening to music, trying new hairstyles, and networking are among her hobbies. You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.

‘Not Without God’–a Passage

Today I would like to share a little bit of writing from my book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival:

Here is a passage:

‘As a child, I knew my path would not be easy. The Lord told me. Not in words but in feelings and in thoughts. I would ride my bicycle up and down our street, we lived in a cul-de-sac, and I would climb to the top of the tree. I was active. I’d play sports. I was kind of a tom boy, and I heard from God on my daily bike rides–I felt his presence strongly and he would say, “This road will not be easy, Zina, but I will never leave you nor forsake you.” I knew it would be difficult. These were more of ‘whispers in my heart.’ God was introducing me to what was to come, but letting me know that I would get through it.

8D08928A-1497-40C2-BEAC-D6311B672630 — At seventeen years of age, practicing how to walk!

After my accident at just sixteen, I had severe injuries, my spine not only broke but shifted at the (mid) thoracic level. My tibias and fibias were shattered in both legs as well as in my left femur bone. I needed rods and screws to hold my broken bones in place. I had a C1 fracture, and I’m lucky it wasn’t worse. That kind of injury can leave someone a quadriplegic (a quadriplegic typically loses usage of their legs and their arms, they may even have breathing trouble and need a trach).

I was told by a select few doctors that I would never walk, and today I am able to ambulate with forearm crutches or a walker. Unless it is icy and snowy out, or unless I am not feeling good. I especially use a wheelchair on ‘icy’ days because I have had a few falls!

It’s ironic because the street I grew up on was called “Gramercy Ct.,” and archaically, the word “Gramercy” is used to express gratitude, the word ‘mercy’ can mean, forgiveness or ‘many thanks.’ I am thankful to be alive so I don’t think that the name of my childhood street was a coincidence.

I am able to walk with AFOs (an ankle-foot orthosis) now, because my braces have been cut down through the years since I’ve gotten stronger, but it was something I had to ask about. A physical therapist will rarely ask if you want less of a walking brace, I mean, they evaluate you at periodic evaluations but as with all recoveries, one needs to be proactive.

The reason I am telling this story is because my life is a miracle, and so is the ability to walk. I don’t take it for granted, and I thank God every day! I want you to know that whatever it is you are going through–you can make it, too! As long as you persist, work hard, and have faith!

May God bless you all…

About Zina

73840719-0BFE-4A74-979C-DE7D4B67C89A Zina Hermez authored the best-selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. Her stories have been featured in Christianity Today, the Southern Writers Magazine, various guest blogs, medical journals, newsletters, and she’s written over 200 of her very own articles. She’s had the privilege of working with thousands of students from different backgrounds and parts of the world. She’s taught at automotive corporations like General Motors, Ford, Nissan, Bosch, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and worked with students of all ages. She began her own teaching services incorporating math and other subjects. Her writing endeavors have earned her an invitation to speak at the Harvard Faculty Club’s “Business Expert Forum.” Zina’s goal is to help others overcome adversity. Socializing with friends, taking trips, listening to music, and networking are among her hobbies. You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Have your dreams been met?🙏✨🌟

Have you found what you’ve been searching for? Do you know what it is? Have you accomplished what you’ve been dreaming about? If not, how can you get to it? There is no limit to what God can do. But we are the miracle workers, too. Without Him we can do nothing, but we have to do something to start! We can be co-workers with God!

When you are praying for your wishes to come true, you are RECEIVING, too. Whether you realize it or not, God is giving. You open the gateway. The Holy Spirit gives you guidance. You may not hear directly from the Lord. However, once you ask or make prayer requests, there is an unfolding of events that take place and you eventually get your answers.

The essence of faith is the ability to see something good in your life with no evidence.

Although everything does not turn out the way we want it to. There is God’s will, and there is our will—they don’t always coincide. The sooner you accept that the happier you will be. Take heart, though, God knows what is best for you, when something doesn’t work out the way you want it to—remember, God could’ve been shielding you, or teaching you a life-lesson.

There will be new experiences, you will plan, hope, and believe!

When I got out of the hospital after my accident at sixteen, I got settled at home, I pondered upon how I would go back to school. I was active before it. It took me a long time to adjust and even think of myself as beautiful. I knew that life would be difficult. I wondered what it would be like. I wondered if I would make new friends, or have a career like I always wanted.

I wondered about my future, a lot.

I hoped that I would one day walk again, and indeed, I am, but not the way I expected to. I use crutches (the kind with the rings around the arms) because of weakness, pain and tightness. Considering the fact that there were a few physicians who predicted I would not walk at all, I have made huge progress.

I held onto what I knew–God would get me through, because that is his promise!

I didn’t know what the next day would bring; I could not predict anything. But I knew that with God by my side, overcoming would become second nature!

I’m someone who wants to maintain a relationship with the Lord. Even when friendships failed, I knew Jesus would be there. Every time someone rejected me, I became closer to him. I want you to remember that in your trials; His love is sufficient.

Making God your best friend can prepare you for any life event. Throughout my life, I’ve asked God what to do. Jesus says “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever” (John 14:16).

The advocate is the Holy Spirit, and He will lead and guide you. Get to know God as soon as you can. Talk to God like you would your best friend. Was there a time when you knew that only he could help? Were you ever in a desperate place? A minute to minute, moment to moment, dependence-on-God-kind-of-place?

Maybe you weren’t too spiritual when you encountered it, or maybe you were but then needed Him more than ever before!!!💫

About Zina

5A1B90A4-7231-46E9-A9FD-907EC16171A5 Zina Hermez authored the best-selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. Her stories have been featured in Christianity Today, the Southern Writers Magazine, various guest blogs, medical journals, newsletters, and she’s written over 200 of her very own articles. She’s had the privilege of working with thousands of students from different backgrounds and parts of the world. She’s taught at automotive corporations like General Motors, Ford, Nissan, Bosch, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and worked with students of all ages. She began her own teaching services incorporating math and other subjects. Her writing endeavors have earned her an invitation to speak at the Harvard Faculty Club’s “Business Expert Forum.” Zina’s goal is to help others overcome adversity. Socializing with friends, taking trips, listening to music, and networking are among her hobbies. You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.

More Than a Teacher, My Latest Role

My dad got out of a nursing home last week (people don’t typically leave those places), and given his age and condition, he could use around the clock help and supervision. So I am wearing the hat of full time caregiver along with my mother and his aide, and I am thankful I can handle all of this!

This new position has required me to practically move back in with my parents (I have not given up my home, though :-), but this is after being on my own since I was 23 years old! My mom doesn’t have the frequent memory lapses, or ask repetitive questions or make repetitive statements like my dad does, but I do administer her medication because she has had more than one slip up, but I will save that for another article.

I am not only an extra set of hands and feet, but an extra pair of eyes, also. I distribute all their medicine, as I already mentioned. I don’t know if this will be a long term thing, but I know I am where I need to be now. One thing I have learned, is that whenever the universe has called you to do something that requires MORE of yourself, do it because if you don’t, you are passing up a chance to make a difference. When you don’t take the opportunity to help, you are the one losing.

My dad has general weakness (due to his heart disease) and he’s on oxygen. Interestingly enough, when I watch him and my mom socialize (more like, hear them from my bedroom where I spend most of my time there), it seems like he never left! You can tell they are happy he is finally home, and I am also!

Sometimes in life we have to make sacrifices, and it may not seem right or even comfortable to make the choice to give up so much of our free time, or to change our regular pattern and lifestyle, but keep in mind that Jesus did not come to teach us to be independent, but to depend and rely on one another!

I have been on my own for so long and have always had an adventurous spirit. I have sought out to get what I can out of life and have tired myself just to make my dreams come alive! I am all about opportunity and freedom. I believe that all too often we put ourselves first, though, and not attend to others. We live in what seems to be a “me me me” culture.

Living with my parents takes me back to my past, and it was imperfect, I didn’t have the best of childhoods. I searched for God a lot before my accident, meaning, I knew he was there, and I strongly felt his presence. But I wanted to understand him better. I knew he was greater than what I was experiencing.

Through my accident, I got to know him, and really saw his love through others. The people who were fighting for my life (my doctors and nurses), family, and friends (who visited) were the ones that helped me during those difficult times! You see, we need each other.

And now is the greatest time to reach out, take yourself outside of your comfort zone, and attend to someone even through a simple phone call or visit. Make a difference!

About Zina

Zina Hermez authored Not Without God: A Story of Survival. Her stories have been featured in various guest articles, medical journals, magazines, newsletters, and 200+ of her very own articles. She works as an English teacher in the Detroit area and has been an educator for twenty years. She’s had the privilege of working with thousands of students from different backgrounds and parts of the world. She’s taught at automotive corporations like General Motors, Nissan, Toyota, Ford, and Mercedes-Benz. She’s worked with numerous children and accumulated many jobs. Zina began her own teaching services incorporating math and other subjects. She currently home-schools at churches and teaches creative and structured writing as well as other Language arts courses. Zina’s goal is to help others overcome adversity. You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter.

Are You Grieving?

Grief can be an interesting thing. You may be grieving and not even know it. Life can take you through phases, and sometimes it takes a while to adjust to the fact that things aren’t going to be the same. But you will eventually accept them and even see life through a different lens.

Never believe you’ve hit a dead end. Life has a myriad of opportunities that await us. Keep a good attitude. You may think you cannot accomplish something, or that it is too late. But life is full of new beginnings!

It can take a long time to accept your circumstances. Denial is the first stage. But you will be happy. You will smile and believe. You will hope. You will plan. You will open your heart to new experiences again!

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A Moment of Thanks – An Excerpt from My Book

“All you need to know is that someone cares. A small detail, but it’s enough to turn your life around. Love changes things.” ~Zina

While in the hospital at sixteen I kept a journal, and each night at midnight—under my covers, with a flashlight in one hand and a pencil and pad in the other with music playing in the background—I would write. Here is one journal entry:

Dear God,

I believe You are with me—listening and answering my prayers. I feel lucky to have You. I’ve opened my heart, and I’m trying to more. I don’t know how I got so lucky because before the accident, I didn’t know how You worked. But now I have found myself, I know who I am, what I want, and where I’m going.

I was thankful God saved me, and because of the outpouring of love and support from family, friends, hospital staff, and even families of the other children– I felt worthy. I think love has the power to do that, take a broken teenager, and make them feel whole.

In moments of despair I can revisit this place, it will make anything I’m upset about small. Can you be thankful for a time in your life when things could’ve been worse? Focus on how God’s saving grace helped you. It is an act of THANKSGIVING!

About Zina

Zina Hermez authored the book Not Without God: A Story of Survival and created the Spinal Injury Solutions! online website. Zina works as an English Language Instructor, and has been an educator for fifteen years. Her thousands of students have been from many parts of the world, and she’s worked with all ages. Zina writes articles on faith and overcoming challenges, and her stories have been featured in Christianity Today, guest blogs, newsletters, medical journals, and other publications. To learn more about Zina visit: http://zinahermez.com.

“Love Conquers All”

“Love is a force that is able to heal the worst of situations.” ~Zina Hermez

It’s one of my favorite quotes from my forthcoming book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. Love helped me heal from my accident on Oct. 18, 1994. The love from friends and family, and the love at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital was incomparable. It emanated from the doctors, the nurses, even the families of children who were ill. There was this energy I can’t explain, but it translated into a lot of love.

The reason I wrote Not Without God, is to share my story and how I healed from a catastrophic accident that left me paralyzed as a teen. I hope that through reading my book, others will be inspired and overcome their own challenges of any kind. I pray that through my story, others will be able to get insight into how to heal.

Today I’m grateful for the abilities I have and the ability to walk at all, and I have not given up. I went from being a popular teen to alone and handicapped. I was on a breathing machine. I could not talk. I could not move. I could not eat solid food in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for nearly a month. The only way to communicate was to write.

People tell me “you’re so strong” all the time. Perhaps I am; but for me to be here is a part of God’s plan. He controls everything. We have to understand that everything happens by Him and for Him. I think sometimes people have this misconception that they are rewarded because of their effort or hard work and things they do. Good things happen to them, and they get surprised when bad things occur. But God allows suffering sometimes. No matter how much I’ve been through, it’s nothing compared to what Jesus went through.

Today is Palm Sunday: the first day of Holy Week. Easter is on Sunday, April 20. No matter what our burdens, let us carry them and follow after Him.

But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. —Isaiah 53:5