February 1 - Amy R.

I became a Christian when I was pregnant with my first child. My mom and dad believed in God and raised their family in the catholic faith. I went to church until I was a teenager. My best friends were Catholics and went to Catholic school. I remember when I was around 20 years old and having a conversation with them about if there really was a God or not. I began to question my faith in God for the first time in my life.

After one of the many failed relationships, I was on the phone with a friend whose last name happened to be “Kross” (no kidding) and she told me to hang up because I was upset and pray to God. I wasn’t sure how to do that since I had previously only learned and said rote prayers. I asked her how and she said just talk to Him. I prayed for the first time and ask God if He had a man for me, please send him my way because I wasn’t doing a good job on my own. The man he sent into my life next ended up being the man I eventually married. My heart was truly broken and God heard my prayer to let Him decide for me. Before then I do not recall asking Him for any help. Just having a sense that someone was watching over me.

Fast-forward three years later I married this man who had been raised Catholic but had born again siblings, cousins, and parents thanks to encounters with Christians sharing their faith who came from Greg Laurie’s church. We were not willing to follow what they were doing so we found a local Catholic Church and priest to marry us after attending a few months. My new family must have been praying in their seats that wedding day for God to do the miracle in our hearts. We received a Bible for a wedding gift from one of the Christian cousins. I didn’t open it up until 2 years later when my husband and I started thinking about what we were going to teach her first child about our Catholic faith. We didn’t really understand it ourselves.

We look back now and realized how many people God placed in our lives to point us to Him. One friend whose last name was “Outlaw” (still not kidding) was devoted to reading her Bible everyday and praying to Him journaling thoughts and prayers and thanksgiving to Him. My interest was piqued. I began to read an easy translation she recommended. Then I remembered our wedding gift. I don’t believe I read the inscription from my husband's cousins until then but I know they were praying for us for a while. I started to take notice of how my in-laws interacted and celebrated Jesus when we got together for holidays and I became more interested in who he was. They recommended I start fresh at the beginning of the year reading through the Bible, studying it with other Christians like a ladies study they were a part of and going to the Bible teaching church. I started January 1997 and since then, my eyes were opened reading I Corinthians 15 that Jesus died for “my” sins according to the scriptures and if I confess my sins he is faithful and just to forgive me of my sins and make me clean from all the wrongs I had done. I John 1:9. Those were the verses that led me to give my life to the Lord and ask Him to forgive me and be my savior. Thanks be to God and every faithful servant that pointed the way to Him, I have celebrated 27+ years in a loving relationship with my husband who He handpicked and we kept Him in the center and by His power raised up 4 children to know Him and praise Him are all walking with Him. He placed me in an amazing Jesus loving church body where I oversee the Children’s ministry! Plus has allowed my family and I to live and walk in His ways in our community sharing His truths, making mistakes, showing His grace and forgiveness and compassion where He leads us. Not perfectly but we try out our best to stay filled and in step with His Holy Spirit. And that’s His story about me and I’m enjoying each adventurous chapter with Him. I’m hoping He stirs up some more God moments for me to share but for now this is my testimony. May it encourage you to know He made you to worship Him and enjoy a relationship with Him forever and will continue to wait and pursue you each day. God bless you and life with Him!