Jill
Faith and Family
Jill was a 23-year-old mother of a toddler and newborn when she found out she was HIV positive. Soon after, her husband left. As her world turned upside down, she found strength through her faith and her family.
After her diagnosis, a friend encouraged Jill to visit a church. She said that as others in her life turned away from her, she could depend on her faith and share her pain through prayer.
“The church had people from every nationality, people who were struggling every day, in so many different ways,” she said. While Jill experienced stigma in many other areas of her life, she found acceptance among her fellow congregants.
But the two people that mattered the most were her two sons. “We were a team,” she said.
As they got older, she homeschooled them, teaching not just textbook material, but also how to cook, clean and even how to play the drums. They all relied on each other – the two boys looking after her when she was sick.
It was important for Jill to raise her boys to be self-sufficient adults who could handle anything that came their way. In the back of her mind, she always worried what would happen if she wasn’t around to take care of them. Today, Jill cherishes the tight-knit relationships she still has with her now-grownup sons.
For Jill, God had one more twist in store. Through her church she met her now husband of 10 years – the man she describes as the love of her life.
“It’s been a journey, but it’s been my journey,” she said. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
