Having grown up in the church and hearing the familiar "Christian" sayings ("praying for you" or "God is good all the time, and all the time God is good") and Bible stories over and over I began to take them for granted and they were getting old. I could recite the stories and those saying without thinking about it. They were head knowledge but there was no connection for me.
At the age of 10 I had my first experience with death, the loss of my grandfather on Valentine's Day. My grandfather meant the world to me and I had spent many hours with him each week and the summers with my grandparents for as long as I could remember. I questioned how he could be taken from me and why him? In looking at my grandfather's life I knew that there was more to his life than what I had in mine - I was missing something. Through the next few months I began searching for answers and having more and more questions about God. In early May of 1981 God used a pulpit exchange preacher at our church to preach the gospel that I had heard thousands of times before, but this time my heart and ears were open to hear it. Praise God for His faithfulness to put preachers in my life that preached the gospel week in and week out. I thank God that He did not give up on me even though I had turned away from Him so many times before.
I continued attending church regularly and saw changes in my life. Unfortunately, I spent many of the following years staying as that baby Christian and not growing. As I think back I see many opportunities I have missed and I am sure that there are many more that I don't even know about.
It was not until college that I began to really dig a little deeper spiritually. While in college, God blessed me with a wonderful roommate who encouraged me with my walk and was a great example to me. It was also at college that God greatly blessed me and saw fit to introduce me to someone who promised that "I Will Be Here" (Steven Curtis Chapman) for me and that he would "Go There With You" (SCC). Alex and I were married the week after graduation.
Life with Alex has been a great adventure to say the least. I guess he took his promise of going there with me quite seriously. We have moved 6 times and been in 4 states. God has taught me many things along our journey (some were easier to learn than others) and He continues to teach me new things each day - Praise God!. Although the path may not always be easy or the desire of our human hearts, God is always faithful to do His plan and to mold us and change us into who He wants us to be so that we can be used by Him. Yes, sometimes that molding, shaping, and changing us hurts, but I have learned that "God IS good ALL the time, and ALL the time God IS GOOD!"
I thank God for bringing us to New Hope almost 4 years ago. I thank God for our church family, for Bro. Chris who faithful preaches God's word and doesn't tickle our ears with things to please us, and for Laura who leads us to His throne in worship each week. Having seen lots growth and God's hand at work in those 4 years, I look forward to seeing how God will use New Hope in the future to further His kingdom and to care for His flock.
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