I grew up feeling sorry for my testimony. Not because I was not blessed with a wonderful story, but because I had not discovered how truly blessed I really am.
I started going to church when I was in the crib. It's on my list of first outings within my first month of life- of course, high school football games are also on that list. I could recite basic scriptures and bible stories as well as my name and thought Jesus was the only answer to who I served.
When I was six years old, my mother (who was a school teacher at this point) and I were sitting on my bed looking through a book of curriculum. The lesson we were looking at on this day was history- it was about the Egyptians and their many gods. I clearly did not get this. gods. Little g. S on the end. what?
That led into the discussion of Jesus Christ and I right then accepted that He was my Savior and Lord, and that I loved Him with my whole heart, just as He loved me. I fully believe that I understood my salvation that day.
Of course, over the years I grew in my faith and through Bible courses at Full Armor, church every Sunday, and a wonderful youth group with Frank Teat as our minister, I began to comprehend what Christ's love truly meant.
The summer after my freshman year, the year when I had transferred into the "real world" of public school and seen how the world really was, I started building on that foundation with Super Summer as the catalyst. Super Summer is a Christian leadership camp held at 3-4 campuses around Texas every summer. I honestly don't think anything I say about the amazing things God does at this camp will do it justice, so I will leave it at that.
Throughout high school, I met friends and mentors who made me think and grow in my faith. I still meet people today that really encourage me to grow deeper every day and see what the Lord has for me.
The summer after my senior year in July 2009, I went to Tokyo, Japan, on a mission trip for two weeks. This was the next major event that God placed in my life to open my eyes. Since this trip, I have been more open to missions, adoption, and most importantly, I can see the lack of hope in people's eyes and their desire for Christ's love in their lives.
My first semester of college was at Dallas Baptist University. Getting out of my comfort zone, learning to deal with frustrating people, and having a lot of alone time taught me more than I realized at the time. I had one professor really stand out to me: Dr. Mullen, who taught Old Testament Survey. He got me interested in the Old Testament as well as made me feel cared about when I needed it most.
I then transferred to University of Texas at Tyler. So many people ask me why I transferred and here it is to set the record straight: I just wanted to. That's it! Plain and simple. I learned what I needed to learn at DBU, and it was time for God to take me on another path. I have been able to grow in awesome ways because of this change.
Since then, I started dating Michael. We talked about Christianity and faith all of the time and I asked him multiple times if Jesus was his Savior. You can't rush God's time. If nothing else from this post, remember that. One night, we had gone up to Michael's office to feed the shop cat of all things. We were just talking away and he said he was ready to accept the Lord right then and there. I was so excited for him.
I am grateful that we now get to grow together. We listen to what God has in store for the other person on a daily basis. We tell each other passages that fit perfectly with what one or the other of us are going through.
My story may be basic, stereotypical, whatever you want to call it, but it's all Christ's plan for me. It's the story of how much He has blessed me and how I know I will find blessings no matter what the path is that He takes me down next.
xo_vw
