The people in our bible study group are truly some of our closest friends in the world - there are 7 couples and we've been meeting on the 3rd Friday of the month for over 5 years, but we've been friends much longer. Our most recent Bible study was on a book by Bill Hybels called, "Just Walk Across the Room", about helping others to know Jesus. One chapter suggested everyone write "100 word stories" about how their lives were different before and after they began a closer friendship with Him. I asked everyone if they would let me post them here - these are the ones I've received so far...
From Michelle:
"The Love of My Life"
My favorite type of movie is a love story (with a happy ending, of course) and I view my journey with our Lord as the same. I am praying that the ending to my spiritual love story will be the gift of eternal life with Him.
When I look back on the beginning of my relationship with my husband, David, my thoughts always leave me smiling. I get the same feeling when I reminisce about my journey with our Lord. Wow!! He has been walking with me, carrying me, guiding me, nudging me, blessing me, humbling me, forgiving me and most importantly, loving me for a very long time. Is there some specific moment of conversion in my love story? No, there isn’t. There is not a defining moment that I can say the Lord swept me off my feet. How could He sweep me off my feet when He was always carrying me? Amazing, just like the awesome Footprints in the Sand story.
Look back on your life and marvel in the hand that God has had in your life. What a journey it has been for me. As with my relationship with my husband, I so look forward to growing old with the Lord!
God Bless! Michelle
Sorry this is more than 100 words :)
From Chris:
For as long as I can remember I’ve liked to collect things. I’ve had or still have baseball card, coin, stamp, & comic book collections. Similarly, I catch myself accumulating personal items of interest. Things like the scorecards from every round of golf I’ve ever played. I compile checklists too – like a list of every new church I’ve attended. Before I knew Christ, I could only say those pursuits brought me a sense of accomplishment. Now I know that the completeness I was yearning for in those pursuits were simply a poor substitute for the fullness I have now in Christ.
From Sue:
I was born a Roman Catholic, not understanding much about Jesus Christ. We went to Mass, but it was routine to me. However, I knew it was important to believe. A few years after I was married, I found myself surrounded by people who were searching for the Truth. Several events such as volunteering at Promise Keepers, participating in an Emmaus Walk, attending conferences at Franciscan University, and being apart of a vibrant prayer group helped steer me toward a deeper understanding of Jesus and his mercy, forgiveness, and unconditional love. I now have the hope in a greater life eternally with Him.
From Mike:
I grew up in a non-religious home, but was always a “good kid” and rarely got into trouble. After meeting my Catholic wife, Susan, I spent years going through the motions until at one point I simply felt God’s nudging and I became Catholic.
A few years back, my dad died before my eyes. It was a powerful moment for me and it increased the emphasis I put on my own faith.
Now with four children, I’m very committed to being a good example to them and hope that seeing me living with Jesus gives them the same hope and confidence in eternity that I enjoy.
From Nancy:
I had a very abusive childhood, which led to very low self esteem. From the low self esteem came drugs and alcohol, which led to trying to take my own life. Jesus had plans for me (He does for everyone). I had always had a relationship with God, but it wasn't until I really began to depend on Him and His ways that Jesus showed me how precious and loved I was in His sight, now the low self esteem is gone. I truly know that I'm a child of God, He loves me no matter what's in my past.
From Gary:
With a teen and adult life of partying, I was focused on me and what made me happy. God was something out in the cosmos somewhere that didn’t pertain to my life, and so I never really thought about Him. When God was presented to me as someone close that I could have a relationship with, for the first time I actually pondered and thought about God and who He was and why He was not only important, but necessary. He changed my heart and gave me the desire to pursue Him and not just pleasure, and from there the journey began...
From Kent:
I was living my life on the "me" plan and had it all messed up. I wasn't happy with any single aspect of my life, including my marriage. Fortunately, my wife and I agreed to put some effort into fixing things. Part of that "effort" was that I went to a few Christian men's conferences and they had an impact on me. I came to realize how shallow of a life I had lead, and I made a decision to commit my life to serving God instead of myself. I still have my share of problems, but I'm a lot more at peace dealing with them and life is just a lot more fun.
Here's mine, condensed from the post titled, "My Conversion Story":
I always thought getting divorced was something that could never happen to me. Well, a few years ago I found out I was wrong. But in the middle of it all God brought someone to me who said that Jesus was sad with me about my marriage and that He wanted it to be healed even more than I did. As I got to know Him more, I wanted to follow Him, and soon my husband saw the changes in me and he wanted to follow Him too. God healed our marriage and now I want to thank Him by how I live my life and by telling others how great He is.
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