Andrew’s Story
I've spent most of my life believing that I could handle everything on my own. I always believed that Christ existed because that's what I was taught, but I never fully accepted Him or allowed Him to be the leader of my life. Although my family and I belonged to and attended a church on a regular basis, I didn't put God first.
Last year a devastating event took place in my marriage. It almost killed me. I wanted to die. I didn't think that I could go on. I thought about taking my own life. I was angry with God and turned to alcohol for comfort.
A friend told me that I should seek counseling - but not just any counseling. She said I needed Christian counseling. I searched the internet and found that Compassion Christian Church had a counseling center. The sessions were awesome because not only did the counselor listen and talk to me, but he also prayed for me and with me. It was clear that he genuinely cared for me.
During that time I decided to attend a church service. It was just after Easter and Cam was talking about the hundreds of people that had been baptized and given their lives to the Lord during the Easter services. It touched me. Cam said, “Some of you in here right now are carrying pain that you need to get rid of. Come to the front and let us pray with you, walk with you and help you through it.” I felt like he was talking directly to me. I have always been a little shy and never liked being in front of large crowds, but something compelled me to step out into the aisle and go forward. Cam met me at the front and we talked. I was shaking as told him my issues. He introduced me to someone, and we went to a side room. I cried as we talked and prayed. That day I decided that I wanted to turn my life and my grief and my pain over to the Lord and get baptized because I was making a mess of things on my own.
Since giving my life to Christ, I have learned that I can be forgiven and learn to forgive even the worst of betrayals. God doesn't cause the grief and pain in our lives, but He will sometimes let us go through those times as a learning experience. I found that I grew spiritually through the grief. I have learned to love myself and life again. I still have a lot of work to do, but I feel that I am on the right track. I used to make critical decisions on my own. Now I find myself sometimes asking, “What would Jesus do?” I’m eager to keep learning and growing in my faith!
Share This
Do you have a story about how God has changed your life, please Share it with us.