In the Beginning

Psalm 100:5 "For the LORD is good, and His faithful love endures forever; His faithfulness, through all generations.”

God is eternal. God is faithful. God is love.

His eternally, faithful love was in the beginning and goes beyond our lives. We have so much to be grateful for. Growing up, I only knew “of”, and it was only the beginning. He knitted my plan way before I even knew what I was doing. The love and attachment I had to the land across the sea wasn’t a mistake. The desire to move from the states wasn’t a fluke. The joy that came with teaching others wasn’t a random act.

All of those things were determined before God revealed His plan to me and I’m so thankful it was all in His timing and not my own. There were many things in my past (before Christianity) that needed to happen so I could gain wisdom and experience. Now, a lot of it was gained after the consequences of sin, but again, I didn’t know that was happening until after Jesus. 

Once I allowed Jesus to take over my heart, all of the puzzle pieces all fell into place. I remember the distinct moment when Jesus called me to obedience and I knew I couldn’t go back. Or didn’t want to. When I was 18, I was asked to lead a bible study for some of the youth, and as I was studying, I was reading Matthew 25 and verse 33 stuck out like a sore thumb. Jesus describes, throughout the whole chapter, the difference between people and His people, and verse 33 is what did it. Jesus said, “And He will put the sheep on the right and the goats on the left.” I knew, at that moment, I was on the left side. For the next couple of Sundays after the Scripture experience, the Holy Spirit had been working! I can’t remember how many altar calls there were, but there was heart pounding, tunnel vision, and the pastor kept looking at me! Could it have been all in my head, maybe, but it could’ve been the Holy Spirit as well. I’ll bet it was the latter. So I made that final step of obedience, told the pastor, and wanted to get baptized. 

After that, things just started making sense. I was dating the guy I ended up marrying. I ended up in a teaching job that stretched me thin but built my faith stronger. I ended up living a life for the Lord as He called me and Brad overseas to share the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who have limited or no access to the Gospel. 

Everything that has happened has been because of God and for God. The Holy Spirit guided me (and still does!) Jesus has saved me, and God has me to His right. 

God is eternal. God is faithful. God is love.