🌿 Marked by Grace
Why March Matters
By Tylia L. Flores | Able by Grace Ministries
March is not random.
When I look at this month, I don’t just see dates on a calendar. I see divine alignment.
In just a few short weeks, we reflect on:
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Lent — a season of sacrifice and preparation.
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St. Patrick’s Day — a testimony of bold, missionary faith.
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Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month — a reminder that every body carries purpose.
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And we prepare our hearts for Easter — resurrection.
That is not coincidence.
That is orchestration.
God is intentional with seasons.
And I believe March is a reminder month — a month where God whispers:
Pause.
Reflect.
Remember your mission.
The Cross Is the Foundation
Lent calls us to slow down and consider what Jesus endured.
Isaiah 53:5 reminds us:
“He was pierced for our transgressions… by His wounds we are healed.”
By His wounds.
Not by comfort.
Not by applause.
Not by ease.
By sacrifice.
The cross looked like weakness.
It looked like defeat.
It looked like loss.
But it was redemption.
And here’s why that matters:
Without the cross, Lent is ritual.
Without the cross, St. Patrick’s Day is just green decorations.
Without the cross, awareness months are just information.
But because of the cross, pain has purpose.
Because of the cross, weakness is not wasted.
Because of the cross, scars tell stories.
St. Patrick: When Pain Becomes Mission
Saint Patrick was kidnapped as a teenager and enslaved in Ireland.
He could have grown bitter.
He could have stayed angry.
Instead, he returned to the very land that hurt him — to preach Christ.
He used a shamrock to explain the Trinity.
He turned trauma into testimony.
That’s the power of surrender.
Pain becomes platform when it’s placed in God’s hands.
And that same truth applies to us.
What if the thing that wounded you
is the very place God wants to use you?
We All Carry Something
Here’s something I’ve learned:
We all carry something.
Some carry it physically.
Some emotionally.
Some spiritually.
Some silently.
Anxiety.
Depression.
Grief.
Chronic illness.
Trauma.
A diagnosis.
A delay.
A heartbreak.
We all carry something.
And the world says:
Hide it.
Be ashamed.
Fix it first.
But Psalm 139 says:
“I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Wonderfully made does not mean struggle-free.
It means intentionally formed.
Even the parts that stretch you.
Even the parts that humble you.
Even the parts that make you dependent on God.
Romans 8:28 says:
“In all things God works…”
Not that all things are good.
But that God works in them.
The hospital room.
The therapy sessions.
The waiting season.
The fatigue.
The tears.
God wastes nothing.
My Journey with Cerebral Palsy
March is also Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month.
And as someone who lives with cerebral palsy, this month is personal.
It has not been easy.
It has meant:
Doctor visits.
Fatigue.
Feeling different.
Being underestimated.
Working harder in some areas.
Moments of frustration.
There was a time when my prayer sounded like this:
“God… why me?”
Why this body?
Why this diagnosis?
Why the struggle?
Maybe you’ve prayed that too.
But something shifted in my heart.
Instead of asking “Why me?”
I started praying:
“God… use me.”
And that shift changed everything.
From “Why Me?” to “Use Me”
“Why me?” keeps you stuck in explanation.
“Use me” moves you into purpose.
“Why me?” focuses on the burden.
“Use me” focuses on the assignment.
When I prayed “Use me,” I stopped seeing cerebral palsy as something to overcome.
I started seeing it as something to steward.
As something God could use.
As unique lenses He gave me.
Through those lenses, I see differently.
I notice who feels left out.
I understand weakness without judgment.
I move with empathy.
I write with compassion.
Cerebral palsy slowed my steps — but it deepened my spirit.
It shaped my voice.
It shaped Able by Grace Ministries.
It shaped my literary ministry — the books, the devotionals, the projects behind the scenes that most people never see.
My voice was not born from perfection.
It was born from surrender.
Long Before Medicine Named It…
In Acts of the Apostles 3:2, we read about:
“A man lame from birth…”
Carried daily.
Limited physically.
But not limited spiritually.
He became a testimony.
And long before medicine —
William John Little later described cerebral palsy (once called “Little’s Disease”) —
God already knew.
Before science named it.
Before doctors studied it.
God knit me together.
Psalm 139 reminds us:
“You knit me together in my mother’s womb.”
God does not accidentally knit.
He intentionally forms.
What Will You Do With What You Carry?
So here is the question March asks all of us:
What will you do with what you carry?
You can grow bitter.
Or you can grow bold.
You can hide it.
Or you can surrender it.
Stop asking:
“Why me?”
Start praying:
“Use me.”
Use me in my illness.
Use me in my grief.
Use me in my disability.
Use me in my waiting.
Use me in my story.
Because when surrendered, weakness becomes witness.
And we are not marked by limitation.
We are marked by grace.
Final Reflection
2 Corinthians 12:9 says:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”
March reminds us:
Lent — surrender.
St. Patrick — mission.
Cerebral Palsy Awareness — purpose.
Easter — resurrection.
And in the middle of it all, God is still forming stories.
Including yours.
So this month, shift the prayer.
From “Why me?”
To “Use me.”
And watch what He does.
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