My God Story

I have gotten to spend time with my two best friends from college twice in the past couple months. All three of us rarely get to be together at the same time so it has been a wonderful blessing to spend time together. Sheryl Landham, Beth Ngo and I in January

It is hard for me to share a picture of them without sharing my God-story . . . because they are a very integral part of it. So, I thought this would be a good time to share how God intersected my life.

I went to church every week growing up in small town Iowa. I thought going to church, along with getting straight A's, is what would get me into heaven. During my senior year of high school, I had a teacher who was a Christian and whose life was a great reflection of Christ, especially as he was dying of cancer. That gave me an interest in having a relationship with God, but I did not know anything about Jesus. Because I had been to Ames once (for a Reba MacEntire concert . . . oh yeah, country music was all the rage in my high school!), I decided to go to Iowa State. What a great way to make a major life decision, huh? Later, I would find out it was God who brought me to Ames.

At the beginning of August right before I was about to move to Ames, a friend I had met at an FCA retreat a few months before stopped by my house to see me. Sitting on my couch, she prayed for me "that God would put people in my life when I went to Iowa State so that I would know Him more."

A few weeks later, I found myself moving into the 2nd floor of Wallace Hall (in the Towers). I was not looking for God. But, I was scared to DEATH (I grew up in a town of less than 1,000 people and had 28 kids in my senior class), I was as insecure as a freshman could possibly be and I was so introverted I was petrified to talk to new people. I could go on and on. I looked like I had it all together on the outside, but I was a complete wreck on the inside.

Who do you think God put straight across the hall from me??

That's right! Sheryl and Beth. Sheryl and Beth showed a genuine interest in my life. They asked me to join them for dinner every night. They loved me. They invited me to The Salt Company (TSC) and Cornerstone Church. The love they showed me was different than I had experienced before. I wanted what it was that made their lives different.

Sheryl, Beth and I during my sophomore year, 1995.

(It is the earliest picture I could find of just the three of us.)

I went to TSC with them every week. When the music would play and I would see people worship God, I would cry and cry . . . becoming deeply aware of the emptiness in my soul. Going to TSC each week, I also began to hear what the Bible really said: that I was a sinner separated from God. That God was holy and perfect and I could not be in His presence because of my sin. I started learning who Jesus was and that He died on the cross for my sin. Through his death and resurrection, I could have a relationship with God on earth and eternal life when I died.

During the last week of October of my freshman year, I crawled up into my loft one night and surrendered my life to Christ. Honestly, I didn't understand it all. But, I knew I needed God. I went to bed that night with peace like I had never experienced before. God had made me a new creation through Christ.

For the next four years I lived in the dorms with Sheryl and Beth and day-by-day learned from them how to walk with Christ. My life would not be what it is today without these incredible friends. God has used them to shape my life in more ways than I'll ever know. Thank you, Lord, for answering that prayer on my couch in Treynor, Iowa, over 14 years ago. Thank you for saving me and transforming my life!