I was only 11 years old when I entered into a personal relationship with Christ. I had been in church all my life. My Mom made sure that my brother and I were in church everytime the door was opened. Even though I went to all the meetings and did the all the things I was expected to do, I knew there was something missing.
When my Dad was 30 yrs old he accepted Christ. His life immediately changed. He began going to church with us and we as a family began seeking a church that was really seeking God’s will. We would eventually join New Pisgah Baptist Church. One night we went to a church meeting where Fred Lowry was preaching. Because of the things he said and the change I had seen in my Dad’s life, I realized I needed Jesus as my Savior. That night in my living room my Dad led me in a prayer asking Jesus to be the Lord of my life.
That was 23 years ago, and things have not been easy. Since then I have been divorced, losing a marriage of 10 years with four children involved. If I had to admit it, though at 11years old I trusted Christ with my eternity, I never really learned to trust Him in my day to day decisions. The Bible says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean on his understanding in the things you do acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.” Though it took 23 years and a failed marriage, I have finally begun to learn how to trust God with everything. This has given me a totally new outlook on life. For the first time, I can now say I am acknowledging and trusting in Him and not my own abilities.
Posted in Divorce Impacted my Life, I Grew Up in Church , No Comments »
I grew up in the Spartanburg area, but we moved all around because my parents got divorced when I was 3 years old. I never had a real home. I went to church off and on with my Dad. I never had a relationship with my Mom. I starved for love and acceptance from anyone and anywhere I could find.
Since my Dad kept me in church, I went to VBS when I was 8 years old. During VBS I felt that something was missing from my life. I learned that Jesus loved me and accepted me. I asked Jesus to come into my heart and life.
After that day in VBS I felt a peace in my life. I no longer had the need to be accepted by anyone except my Great Father in Heaven. He loves me no matter what. I am not saying that my life has been without struggles, because I have struggled. Life has thrown me some curve balls, especially with the loss of my Dad when I was a senior in high school. Because of God’s love and acceptance through His Son Jesus Christ I know that I can always count on Him to be my constant friend and comforter. He will give me the strength I need to go through life.
Posted in Divorce Impacted my Life, I Grew Up in Church , No Comments »
I grew up in a broken family. My parents divorced when I was 5 years old. I lived with my mother, 2 brothers and sister. I had a very unstable childhood and became pretty fearful. My father remarried and got custody of us. He always took us to church. At church one Sunday I heard the preacher talking about hell and being such a fearful child. I made a decision at church to not go to hell. My life with my father continued to be unstable due to trying to fit in in a blended family. I became rebellious during my teenage years and thought nothing about God. One day while I was in high school a preacher by the name of James Robison came to our school and spoke. He invited us to a crusade at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium that night. I went with my sister, and when he began to preach about Jesus taking the punishment for sin when he died on the cross, I began to be moved. He continued to talk about what Jesus did for me, and at the end of the sermon he asked if anyone wanted to received Jesus’ free gift of salvation to stand. I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest, and I was very sorry for my sin and my lifestyle. I stood that night and gave my life to Christ. I began to grow by reading my Bible and getting involved in my church. Since that time, I have gotten married and have 2 children. I have seen my husband and 2 children give their lives to Christ and He has blessed me so very much. I want to spend the rest of my life honoring Christ and being obedient to Him even though it is and can be difficult. I fail a lot but God is always there for me to forgive me and lead me through the Holy Spirit. He promises to never leave me or forsake me. I am so thankful for Jesus and for saving me.
Posted in Divorce Impacted my Life, I Drifted Away from God , No Comments »
Like many others, I, too, am a child of divorce. My father was an alcoholic who abused my mother. My father finally drank too much one night and ran off the road, dying upon impact with a pole. Years later my mother remarried, and I found myself among this whole other family and I didn’t fit in there. I would go to vacation bible school with them, though, and that with occasional visits to church was my experience. I prayed once with a preacher, mostly agreeing but not understanding what it all really meant. Life went on as usual til 7th grade and things got worse in my life. I made good grades but worse in a different way. Life was chaotic in most every other way and sometimes my parents got into arguments. I struggled a lot then with who I was and who I was supposed to be. I remember crying a lot. I had friends who really weren’t friends…
I remember sometimes the drama being unbearable. One day I met this girl. I helped her study for a test or something. She was a Christian and we became friends. She was so different from other people I called my friend. She talked to me and answered my questions about what following Jesus meant. She took me to her church. Sometimes I was defensive but still, I asked questions. One night on the phone, I just felt it. I knew then that I had never accepted God’s gift of grace. I had never truly asked forgiveness of my sins. I knew that I needed to stop what I was doing and ask, “‘Jesus, please forgive me; I know you’re there. I know what you want me to do. I know you died and for me. I want to follow you and have you in my heart.” It was simple, but I knew that night that I HAD to do it. There was no delaying it any longer. I don’t even know if we were talking about God or not that night.
That night changed my life. When I stopped praying, I told my friend immediately and I’d never before felt such pure love come into my heart. It’s like God was hugging me from the inside (that’s honestly the only way I could describe that feeling). Fastforwarding, I was in church and then got out again eventually but then in college, I came back to church. Among other things, I realized more fully and began living out the fact that I have a purpose and a direction in Christ. Life now? Not perfect but satisfied with the fact that when I lack, HE IS. When I am out of compassion and love or anxious or angry, HE IS. Being able to live in and rest in that truth has been liberating.
Posted in Divorce Impacted my Life, Someone Else's Life Impacted Mine , No Comments »
I grew a child of divorce in the 70’s and 80’s. We went to church here and there,but I had no real connection to God. In the early 80’s I was playing music with my dad in country/50’s rock band.He was dating a lady who attended church and sometimes we went with her. There was a special service, and Rosie Grier was speaking. I was a Steelers fan so he had my attention. He spoke of sin and the penalty of it, and that we were all guilty. He told us that God had sent his Son to die in our place. He gave an invitation to accept this free gift of salvation,which I eagerly accepted. I thought I had this part of my life taken care of…business as usual, right…
Life went on and I had no one to tell me what do as far as what following Christ looked like. As I got into highschool I started hanging with the wrong crowd, experimenting with alcohol and drugs. I got out of highschool, started work, and later on went to Spartanburg Tech for welding. I had been dating this girl, whom I later married. The drugs and alcohol continued as well as a lack of church involvement. At different times in my life over the years God’s quiet voice spoke to my heart in the strangest of places (in a bar for example). He would say, “What are you doing here in this place? You don’t belong here.”
I got to a point where I was ready to settle down and get right with God. She didn’t want to do that. It just got worse and worse with the drugs and alcohol and the cheating on her part. We ended up divorced. It was at this point that I began to look to the Lord, and I recommitted my life to the Lord at the age of 24-25. Since then I have been all over the world for Jesus on short-term missions trips. During this period I met the girl who 8 years later would become the love of my life and then my wife. I also serve in the student ministry as a bible fellowship teacher/drummer in the worship band. My life has been turned upside down by Jesus, but when the world is upside down, it takes Jesus to turn it right side up.
Posted in Divorce Impacted my Life, I Made Bad Choices , No Comments »
