From Achievement to Anointing: A Story of Surrender, Loss, and Purpose

By: Michelle Corless

I grew up in a home that honored religion but didn’t know the living presence of Jesus Christ. I was the kind of child and teen who always strived to do the "right thing:" always chasing achievement, applause, and approval. I had a big heart, and I wanted to make a difference—but like so many, I was shaped more by the culture around me than the truth of the Gospel.

I was in High School when my parents divorced, the pain split my world. Instead of running to the Lord, I ran harder after the world. I numbed, I overachieved, and I buried the ache.

But God was still pursuing me.

One day, my dad invited me to church service in Orlando. That day, I met Jesus. I gave Him my life. But I didn’t fully surrender it. I held on to my plans, my path, my dreams. I continued to believe that success would give me significance, so I pursued it relentlessly.

Eventually, I earned my Doctorate in Physical Therapy. My first position as a Physical Therapist was in Virginia.

On paper, I had made it. But inside, I was still searching. I still felt so empty.

Then one day, during a normal shift in the clinic, a pastor came in for treatment.

Instead of small talk, he did something unexpected—he invited my coworkers to church. Something stirred in me, and my now husband and I decided to go too. We had no idea that walk through the church doors would change our eternity.

A few services in on a Sunday in Washington, D.C., my husband gave his life to Christ for the first time. I rededicated mine. For the first time, I started a real relationship with Jesus—not just religion, not just ritual, but one with the living Savior. My heart came all the way home.

Soon after, we were expecting our first child, a baby girl. We named her Charlotte.

The pregnancy was smooth, joyful—everything we had prayed for. But during labor, everything went wrong. I went into anaphylaxis from a reaction to an antibiotic and slipped into a coma. My body shut down. My daughter was without oxygen for over 2 minutes and 45 seconds.

[Medical Note: Research shows that after 1–2 minutes without oxygen, brain cells begin to die. At 3–5 minutes, permanent brain injury is likely. After 10 minutes, the chance of survival drops dramatically. Charlotte's 2:45 would have been long enough to cause severe damage—if not death—by every medical standard.]

But none of that happened.

God healed her. Completely.

There is no medical explanation. But there is a heavenly one: God intervened. I woke up. She lived. She was whole. And I was no longer the same.

In that moment, I laid my life down. Completely. Not halfway, not just on Sundays. Everything. I gave God my dreams, my career, my motherhood, my future.

And He called me—to the last place I expected. Not back to the clinic. Not into comfort. He called me to seminary. To pursue an MDiv. To be trained not just as a healer of the body, but as a shepherd of hearts—especially the smallest ones.

Today, I serve children and families with a heart that’s been broken and remade by Jesus. My passion is to help Christian parents see that our children are not just to be raised well—they are to be raised in Him. Our homes are not just places of growth, but grounds of discipleship. Manger Toys is a reflection of this passion.

Because when we surrender it all, He gives us more than we could have imagined.

And I’ve seen it—I’ve held it. In my arms. Her name is Charlotte.