Shine NOW! Magazine June Issue 2016 June 2016 Issue 1 Volume 1 | Page 15

Thriving with AIDS: 5 Steps to Live in Victory
by: Angeline Lawrence
HIV for 23 years. Yes, she had challenges and
obstacles to overcome, but she is living in
victory while ministering to the AIDS patients
she attends to everyday.
Doretta also shares strategies she used to
transform her life while living with a debilitating
disease in her Amazon best-selling book,
“Living Victoriously: Strategies to Empower
Women with a Chronic Diagnosis.” As we talked
before and after the show taping, I realized that
our relationship with God must be based on
continuous trust in him.
I know it seems obvious, but when you are hit
the gut with the news of being diagnosed with
AIDS (Auto Immune Deficiency Syndrome) your
faith must be rock solid. Doretta stated, “I
thought I was ready for it, but I was not. My
spirit left the room once she gave me the
results.”

W

We all have testimonies of triumph
over tragedy, but when I heard the
story of Doretta Gadsden, I was left
in awe. A registered nurse, life coach and most
recently a best-selling author, it seems she’s
living the American dream. I soon discovered
she endured a night mare to achieve her
accomplishments. I had the pleasure of interviewing her on my podcast, The Shine and
Grind Show in April.
During the show we delighted in the miraculous ways God provided for her throughout her
ordeal. She was delivered from drug addiction
and obtained her GED while undergoing treatment. Eventually she worked her way through
college to be a Registered Nurse.
We discussed her process of recovery and the
work God has given her to do in the workplace
for him. She states, “Every day I ask God, ‘how
will you use me today?’” Doretta has lived with

Devastating news can deflate our spirits, but
God always provides a way for us to rebound.
However, Isaiah 59:19b states, “When the
enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of
the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.”
(KJV) Doretta learned to rely on the leading of
the Holy Spirit, during her recovery from drug
addiction. She defaulted again to the Holy Spirit
the day she went to get her test results.
Doretta states, “I did not want the young man
who tested me to give me the results. I knew
he could not hold the space for me. I looked up
and saw a woman sitting in her office up in a
loft. I told him, ‘I will walk out of here if she does
not give me the results’”.

“I thought I was ready for it, but I
was not. My spirit left the room
once she gave me the results.”

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