Sharing my Story Day 5: Growing

Romans 8:28 All things work together for good to those who love God; who have been called according to his purpose.

As your seeds of faith began to grow, what was it like? Did you suddenly know your purpose in life? Did you find yourself in a whole new world not knowing what to do? What was your walk like?

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Moving around a lot is hard. Especially the older you get and the more introverted you are. As a 16 year old teenage girl who was faced with moving again and changing schools again, life was hard. It's hard enough when you don't have to do those things.

But God placed some of the right people in my path even as I clung to some who maybe God didn't really want in my path. As I've shared so many times, I don't remember a time of not believing, but there were plenty of times when I wasn't necessarily walking the right path. This time period in life is no exception. I had some great friends, but God also gave me a strength I didn't realize I had at the time. The strength to do something my friends weren't necessarily doing. The strength to go to church on my own. To show up for youth class and go on youth outings to be a part of the church choir. Of course the friends I had at the time really just got along with everyone. To look at us we were an odd group, but their acceptance of anything and everything probably was some of God's work that I never realized at the time. My being a Christian was just a part of who I was and they loved me no matter what.

Back to my story though, this wasn't the hard part. The hard part was moving....AGAIN. I begged my mom to let me find a friend to live with for my last 2 years of high school. Literally BEGGED!!!! But alas, that was never going to happen. Fortunately for me my youth pastor shared a great Bible verse in my yearbook: Romans 8:28. Even though I didn't want to admit it, I knew then and there that I had to accept that God was going to be right there along the way and that there was a purpose for everything that happens in life. A purpose that we may or may not ever come to understand. In the past 18 years this one verse has stuck with me and helped me through so many times, both good and bad. And all it took for me to grow as a Christian was one person strong enough to share the right scripture at the right time.

As you began your growth, your journey, did you have a specific verse or story you clung to? That you still cling to? How has it helped you to grow?

Let us pray:
Father, sometimes all it takes is one simple action to set things in motion. Thank you for those simple actions, the ones we realize and even the ones that were so small they may have gone unnoticed. As we all continue to reflect on our growth as Christians, help us to recall the times of growth...even the growing pains. God, I love you. Amen.