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What’s your story? I was asked that question a couple of weeks ago at a woman’s Christian event and was very tongue tied with my answer. I thought this would be a great place to redeem myself!
My testimony as to how I became a Christian goes like this. I did not grow up a believer. Our family never went to church and the times my mom tried to talk to me about God, I shut her down very quickly and quite frankly, was not very nice about it. I went away to college and in my senior year I found myself in a tough, dark place. One morning (about 2:00 am) I was in tears over the whole thing and had no idea what to do. At that moment I prayed for the first time ever. I said, “God, if you are really there, I need you to get me out of this situation.” The very next morning, God rectified the situation in a way that I never imagined possible. It was absolutely undeniable to me that GOD WAS REAL! Now what?
Well, I kind of shelved that revelation for a while until I met a really cool guy (who is now my husband). This cool (and very cute) guy loved God. He went to church every Sunday and because he was cute and I really liked him, I figured that going to church would be a good idea if I had any chance with him! So every Sunday we went to church together. I had never really been to church before and I really felt like a fish out of water, but this really cool and cute guy was worth it.
It was hard getting past the feelings of “not belonging” and “everybody else knows everything and I know nothing,” but I continued to go. I continued to push past the awkwardness and past my insecurities and just kept going. Pretty soon I started to see different changes in myself…new ways of thinking. My priorities started to change…I started to see the needs of others. I started to pay more attention to the words that were coming out of my mouth. It was nothing that I had planned or set out to do, these things were just “happening” to me…for the better. I liked who I was becoming and came to realize that Jesus was at the root of all of it. He was changing me and making me a better person.
At first I was very hesitant to get involved at church, but a certain lady (you know who you are KF) bugged me relentlessly to join her Bible study. After about ten invitations (and tons of excuses) I finally relented and said that I would join. It turned out to be awesome and I met some great ladies. She (KF) also turned me onto Beth Moore Bible studies that I could do at home. I started learning more and more and began to hunger for more things of God.
One morning at Bible study, (KF) recommended that we start our mornings out with God in Bible reading and prayer. I very confidently and boldly told her that I would NEVER go that far…I liked my mornings and SLEEPING way too much. The VERY next morning with no alarm clock I woke up and looked at my clock which read 6:00. Funny I thought but didn’t think much about it. The next morning I woke up and looked at my clock which read 6:00. Now, being someone that likes to sleep and not needing to get up until 7:00, this started to get a little annoying. For TWO weeks, God woke me up at 6:00…not 6:02 or 6:05, it was always 6:00. Knowing that could not be a coincidence, I was very convinced to start my mornings in prayer and Bible reading with Jesus.
As I started inviting God into my morning and throughout my day, He became more and more in my thoughts and now I can’t imagine my life without Him. He is my Comforter, my Guide, my Refuge, my Truth, my Peace, my Friend and the Lord of my life. The beauty of Jesus is that He is just waiting for us to want Him. If you want Him and all that He is, all you have to do is ask. When you ask Him into your heart He will flood you with His goodness and you will never be the same!
Thank you Jesus for rescuing me and thank you KF for never giving up on me!
