How Pain Meets God’s Purpose by Rebecca Kisakye Makyeli Sample

The Vessel God Chooses

I lost my mother to alcohol related conditions when I was just fourteen years old.

At fifteen, I took my first sip of alcohol, unaware that it would open the door to a fifteen year struggle with addiction.

Along the way, my life unraveled in painful ways, dropping out of university twice, surviving two life threatening abortions to eventually being forced out of my home and spending nearly five years homeless, living on the streets of Kampala.

Even now, decades later, I sometimes pause and ask myself how I am still here and why God would still choose me. Yet every time I reflect, I am reminded that my survival is not an accident. It is a testimony of grace and evidence that God’s hand was present even when my life felt completely out of control.

We all journey through life carrying experiences that shape us deeply. Some of these experiences leave marks that we rarely speak about. Others become silent stories we bury in our hearts. But even in those hidden places, God is at work, gently and faithfully shaping us in areas that feel fragile, wounded or unfinished.

As women, we often fail to recognize the depth of strength and influence God has woven into us. What we see as brokenness can become fertile ground for purpose and what feels like loss can become a place of calling. There may be moments when you question your worth or feel uncertain about where your life is headed. You may carry memories that still feel heavy or wounds that are still tender and yet none of these disqualify you from God’s plan. You are still chosen, called and a vessel He delights in using.

God does not define you by where you have been. He sees who you are becoming. He sees the woman He is shaping through grace. Allow Him to remind you that your life has meaning, that you are crafted with intention and that you are destined to walk in purpose.

Your story is not over. It is being redeemed, and through it, God will bring hope to others.

Reflection

1. Where in your life is God inviting you to surrender your imperfections so He can use you as His chosen vessel for His purpose?
2. Which parts of your story have you quietly believed disqualify you, and how might God be inviting you to see them instead as places of grace and calling?
3. What would it look like to trust God with your becoming—believing that He is shaping you even now, not despite your past, but through it?