Looking to Hear Your Stories

Great question!

I would say my most significant life changing experience (in that it changed my entire approach to life) happened at summer camp when I was 14. Up to this point in my life I was very superficial. I knew if I wanted to be someone's friend by looking at them. There was this boy at camp and he wore green girly barrettes in his hair and wanted everyone to call him "green matt". I said to my bff, "I just know he's gonna be on my team, what a wierdo..." Of course when they broke us up into groups for the week, he was not only on my team, but my assigned buddy. Long story short, he changed my life. He was the funniest, wittiest, most diversified person I had met. He became one of my best friends, to this day we stay in touch. The last day of camp we had to go around and say what we were most thankful for out of our experiences there. I learned not to judge people by their appearances. I learned that I would be missing out on some wonderful people and boxing myself in by going on looks alone. Thank the good lord I learned that so young. I really think that lesson is the reason I have been able to navigate my life thus far with openness and acceptance of others. I will forever be grateful he was put in my life.

One of my favorite lines from a book reads: "the break-up that lead to the break-down that lead to the break-through" - this is what I lived.

In my 20's I was very insecure and as a result, I was always needing a boyfriend to help me feel complete (which doesn't work by the way). I had a string of monogamous long-term relationships (all very nice guys), but I was such an emotional wreck it wasn't like any of them had a chance. When I was 26 I moved back to my home state in order to politely break-up with my latest boyfriend and then proceeded to jump right into another relationship...my brain couldn't take it anymore - I was depressed, anxious, confused about who I was - so we broke-up and then I inevitably had a breakdown.

I had gone to church off and on throughout my life, so it wasn't unusual when my mom invited me to go one Sunday morning. I remember hearing the words as I sat there - if you want to feel joy, S., you need to follow me. Shortly thereafter, my mother invited me to a Beth Moore Bible study called "Breaking Free" - which dealt with "breaking free" from all the craziness and insecurity that had been ruling my life. I began to read my Bible every day - and the words I read truly transformed me...but I wasn't done yet.

For the next six months - I studied my Bible. For the first time in my pubescent life, I was not interested in guys at all. I took that time to grow, to learn, to strengthen my self-worth and identity...and my relationship with God. Six months later, I met the man that God had been preparing me for all that time. He and I started out as partying buddies (I was such a new Christian, that I had yet to learn a new way to live), but 5 years later - after going through the storm and holding on to each other and to God, we made it down the aisle. To this day, I feel such a prevalence of joy and peace in my life that I have never known before.

I just posted an allegorical story on my blog. It's not literal, but it echoes some of my experiences with forgiveness and grace, and I'm sure many other people's, too. You can read it here:
http://susannasapron.blogspot.com/2011/04/grace-and-skele...
p.s. Sorry if you clicked on the link and found no page! It's fixed now - you can read it at the above link. God's best to you!

I was raised in a church. My grandpa was a minister. I hated it. I was not allowed to ask questions..or even question things. IT was just to be excepted. As I got older, my parents lost the fight to make me go to church. I had stopped dancing and found drinking and boys. It was more important to be ''in'' then to be at church. My parents never stopped praying for me though. I came to slow down a bit when I started dating my husband. He calmed me. Sadly though we both became pot heads. I was glad to have been able to stop drinking. Only to start a whole other vice. I was not a no work all play person. Neither of us quit or day jobs over it or anything. I became more grounded over this time. I made a bad choice when I was 19. I am not going to get into it. That choice though would forever change who I have become. I didnt look in the mirror and see someone on the right path. I wanted to buckle down and make right with my heart. I ask my hubby to marry me Feb. 2004. We were married and I found out I was pregnant with my second( but first born). I had not had my ahh ha moment yet though. That wouldnt come for some time after my third was born. So, for almost four years. I parented. lost. I was so over whelmed with the amount of change that had taken place in my short marriage. I started getting scared. Then I happened to wind up in church one Saturday evening. I cant remember why I got to that place. It just felt right. My kids started coming with me and It has been home ever since. I found that as a mom I need to have god in my heart to feel total patience with his children he gave me. I cant fully love them unless I have god in my heart. I realized now life would have been so much easier had I just listened to my mom and dad. Would I go back and do it all over..maybe. I have been able to fully see how he works in my life now on a daily basis. There are alot of things I would probably cracked over had it not been for him having my back upstairs.

Last spring he knew we wanted to be in a house. I had been hunting and praying and then hunting some more. My older sister and brother in law about mid march came and told us they were moving to Alaska. They wanted to know what our thought were on taking over their house here for them. We first didnt know what to think. Both parties decided we would sleep on it and then see where he led us. So I started to do the ground work. I was not sure when our lease was up...turns out it was end of july. When did they want to be out...by july 11th. which gave us almost three weeks to move stuff from our apt to the house. It worked out amazingly. It was like a musical concert by the end of july. Thing were tuned and we were settling in. They made it to alaska. They didnt loose their butts in the housing market crisis. We got our back yard we very badly need. If that is not gods work at hand I really dont know what is. This is just one of my bigger prayers that were answered. I have many more daily things that I have answered all the time.

Good question:)