“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; It is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
-Ephesians 2:8-10-
I believe that God has called me to a life of walking in the faith that I could only find in Him. I grew up in a home where my family and I went to church every Sunday, was involved in many church activities, prayed together as a family, and learned about Jesus. I knew from a very young age that I was blessed to be in a family that was committed to following Jesus. I was taught, along with my three siblings, the difference between right and wrong, the basic stories from the Bible, the importance of working hard, and that it was good to obey God. Some of the very first songs I sang were about Jesus and His love for me.
I always knew that God loved me, but it wasn't until December 2, 1995 when I realized that I hadn't completely given my life over to the Lord. I was at a Dawson McCalister Conference at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota when God finally reached back into the corners of my heart and brought me to a place where I knew I needed to make a stand and choose to follow Him with everything I had. My mom prayed with me that day and I knew that God already had an amazing plan in mind for me as I chose to serve Him. (Galatians 2:10)
I was so young at that point and I thought life would be easier now that I had made my decision to follow Jesus, but it didn't take me long to realize that I was wrong. Life, as a teenager, is never easy but with Jesus, I didn't have to face the struggles of life on my own anymore. (Matthew 11:28-30) The next several years were strewn with shortcomings and opportunities to learn that I needed to rely on my Savior for everything. (2 Corinthians 12:9) I am so grateful for the grace that God has for every single one of us. I was and still am in need of His unending grace, mercy and love!
When I decided which college to attend and what to study, I knew I was called into some sort of ministry. After serving on various mission trips and interning with a youth ministry, it became clear that I was called into a life a ministry and specifically involving missions. This didn’t happen overnight though as I still had some growing to do before I was ready to serve the Lord on the mission field. I continued to walk forward knowing that God was in control, sometimes forgetting to seek the Lord first and sometimes being very frustrated with the situations I found myself in.
The years following college seemed to be an unending time of growth including growing pains. When I was called out of a stable, but stressful, career at Wal-Mart to step out of comfortable living and into uncertainty, I learned that sometimes we are called to do the unthinkable. I saw this in Scripture over and over in the story of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3), in the story of Ruth (Ruth 1:15-18), and in the story of Peter (Matthew 14:22-33). With all each of these Biblical examples, there is a common theme: Keeping your eyes fixed on God and trusting in Him. He provided all each of these people needed while they were seeking the Lord first. I stepped out in faith at times I was discouraged and sometimes things didn’t turn out the way I thought they should, but God is more than faithful! He has used each season, each job, each difficulty, each time of joy in my life to draw me closer to Him.
As I continue to step out in faith, I trust that God is Sovereign (Job 42:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:24) and is guiding me down this path as I surrender everything I am to Him (Proverbs 3:5-6, Romans 12:1-2). I know that He has given me a passion to see His name glorified among the nations (Habakkuk 1:5) and believe that He has a plan and purpose for me to fulfill (Isaiah 30:21).
