A faith story is the story of how Christ rescued you from sin and death and has given you new live in Christ. Each month, our church has someone share their “faith story” during the worship service. They are always so interesting because God works in each life so differently. He is patient, sometimes waiting years before a person is saved. While in other cases people come to Christ early in life, but then face various trials such as sickness or the death of a family member or friend. In every story though, the evidence of God’s hand on the person’s life is so obvious…now. At the time they were going through life and difficult trials it may not have seemed to be in God’s hands, but He makes all things beautiful in His time!

I shared my faith story at church on Palm Sunday 2004. The process of writing this story wasn’t easy, it took me back through some trials in my life that I had pushed into my past. However, it also gave me great hope in writing it because I saw, as noted above, His hand in rescuing me, cleansing me and giving me a new life. It was also a great reminder of His FAITHFULNESS, that I can trust Him today just as much as I did then because He is working out all things for my good, conforming me to His image. He is doing the same for you.

I hope this story is an encouragement to you…after all, its His story!

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“If you were given a choice between your commitment to Jesus Christ and your relationship with someone you love, whom would you choose? When I was thirteen,my mother was given this choice by my father and her answer ultimately made me choose as well.

My parents married young and to all outward appearances things looked good. However, within days of their wedding my mother realized my father was not the man she had dated. He was different in private than he had been in public. Despite the difficulty, she was determined not to break her wedding vows.Soon, my brother and I were born, and when I was five we moved to Minnesota. Two weeks before our move, my mother got down on her knees and asked God to show her his will for her life. God quickly responded to her prayer, because just six weeks after we arrived in Minnesota, my mom arranged for our family to take cross-country ski lessons. The ski instructor was a strong Christian woman who explained the message of Jesus Christ to her, and my mom became a believer.

Meanwhile, my father was a very unsettled man. He appeared outgoing and friendly to strangers, but was sullen and argumentative at home. It was difficult never knowing when his temper would flare out of control. He found it hard to show love to my brother and me. I remember crawling into his lap to be held, only to be put back down. Every girl longs to be the apple of her father’s eye, but this was not the case for me.

As my mom grew in her commitment to Jesus Christ, the division in their marriage worsened because of my father’s anger against God. Thankfully, Mom took us to church and read Bible stories to us at night.However, Christian music was forbidden when my father came home.

When I was 13, my brother went away to school and I was left alone in a difficult situation. My father began drinking more heavily, and my mother and I became afraid of him. At that point, my father gave her an ultimatum, either she give up her faith in Jesus Christ, or he would leave. To this day, I’m thankful to my mom for choosing Jesus Christ, because it led to my choice, as well. However, as a result of her decision, my father left, without saying goodbye.

Up to this point, my understanding of faith in God was completely dependent on my mother. Now, I was forced to think about what I believed. Did I really believe what the Bible said? Or, was I trying to get to heaven on my mother’s apron strings? I remember reading John 15:5-6 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered and they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned.”

In reading this verse, I realized that I didn’t abide in Jesus Christ. I knew of Him, but didn’t know Him as my personal Savior and Lord. God showed me that I was one of those branches that would be cast aside and burned, because He didn’t abide in me. That day I asked Jesus Christ to forgive me of my own sin and be Lord of my life.

After I committed my life to Jesus Christ, things got more difficult. The divorce proceedings were ugly and I was still young enough to be involved in a long custody battle. During that time, I was sent through various court-appointed psychiatrists and counselors; accused of being mentally unstable (though an A-student) and “brainwashed” by a cult (which is what my father called Christianity). I was forced to choose between my father and my faith.

Before I even knew to ask, my new “Heavenly Father” provided help for me. He provided a godly couple who were busy parents of four children, yet they still found time to reach out to me. As a teenage girl I still craved the love and approval of a father. This wonderful Christian man provided that for me and still does to this day. God also provided his wife to be a spiritual mother to me, to point out my anger and bitterness against my father, and to show me the way of escape through forgiveness. She helped me see my father through the eyes of Jesus Christ as someone who needs to experience His love and forgiveness. While I haven’t seen nor heard from my father in twenty years, I pray that one day he may find Jesus Christ as I have. Lastly, God provided love between my mother, my brother and I, and to this day we have a bond that I greatly cherish.

Believing in Jesus Christ does not mean an end to trouble and I know many people have suffered much more than I. But I also know that God always provides help in time of need. He is faithful. During current times of trouble, I can look back at how God provided for me in my childhood and I know that He is the same God today. He loves me and is using life’s struggles to draw me closer to Him.

A favorite hymn which encourages me says…

When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrow like sea-billows roll,
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul.

My sin, Oh the bliss of this glorious thought,
My sin, not in part, but the whole.
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more
praise the Lord, praise the Lord my soul.

And Lord haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend.
Even so it is well with my soul.