I was raised in a non Christian single parent home. I lived a very typical Godless life fully living my life for me. Seeking to fulfill the desires of my flesh. Sounds grim I know! However, Oh taste and see just how good the Lord is! At the age of seventeen I became pregnant. Despite me and my ultimate hate of God, I was a chosen vessel of God's love and mercy and He used my sin to bring me to the place where I would see my hatred and need of Jesus. For this I am forever grateful! While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Oh to understand this more deeply yet!
Nineteen eighty nine was a very big year me. I found out I was pregnant in February. Celebrated my eighteenth birthday in April. Graduated from high school in May. Got married in August and had my first child, Brittany in November. All of these things would be but instruments in the hand of our mighty Savior!
Getting married and being a mother was something I desired with all of my heart even as a young lady. I have no doubt that God put that desire in my heart. We see only the here and now but He knows the big picture and is working despite our knowledge of how He is guiding us even before He regenerates us.
Seth also came from a divorced family and was raised by his father. I was raised by my mother. Neither of us had a clue about marriage or being parents! Poor Brittany!!! God's grace has been upon that chosen vessel in a very special way! Needless to say, our first year of marriage was what we describe as a taste of what hell must be like. I know that is a strong way of putting it but it was really bad! Two extremely selfish kids with no clue are now married and parents yet to boot. There was not a single person at our wedding that thought that our marriage would ever last.
But GOD!
This is the turning point! Neither Seth nor I wanted to divorce. We are by products of that, we certainly had greater hopes for our family. However, we just could not make it work. We were miserable! But this was all part of bring us to the end of ourselves.
Now I must tell you that we had no Christian friends. We were not being invited to church. This is just the power of God! One day Seth came home from work and we were talking and he said that he thought we should probably start going to church. "Oh, okay, I said, where should we go?" "Well I think when I was a little boy we used to go to a Methodist church." "There is one of those down on the one corner of town." So the next time we were out we drove past to see what time the service started. That Sunday we got ready and our little family of three attended church. We were not going because we thought this would fix our marriage or anything like that. It was just a formality that seemed right to do. Why? Because little did we know how the Spirit of God was at work in our lives. We were about to come face to face with Jesus and forever be changed.
Well you might expect that this church that God was taking us to was a booming thriving church where the gospel was truly being preached. Surprise! It was a dead little church and who knows what was being taught. I have no idea what words the pastor, who was one year from retiring said. I am sure no one in the church building was hearing what Seth and I were. Every single week we came home and we really wondered if the pastor was a little bird that came and sat in our window during the week. God spoke to us every week. Conviction came by the words that we heard and we began to make changes. It was not a Saul to Paul experience in ways but in some ways it was, only in slow motion.
God put burning a fire within us and we changed! We were new creatures in Christ Jesus.
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
(Rom 10:17)
Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, "I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me."
(Rom 10:20)
This truly is our testimony! We did not seek Him! We did not ask for Him! We were dead in our trespasses and sin and did not even know we needed Him!
Is not our Lord good?!!!
From there our family and friends thought we were crazy just going through this 'Jesus faze'. Well, twenty two years later we are still in our Jesus faze!!! Redeemed how I love to proclaim it. Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Redeemed by His infinite mercy. His child FOREVER I am!!!
Seth and I celebrated our twenty third wedding anniversary this August. Seven children later and being sanctified daily!
Now you tell me, what is impossible with GOD?!!!
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