A Series of fortunate events

Hello everybody!! I hope you are doing fabulous. I cannot believe how quick the coming school year is coming on. Ahhh. Not going to dwell on that haha.

You might be wondering what today's post is all about, and I'll tell you! Today I'm going to be sharing my testimony. How my life has changed from reading the Bible and seeking Jesus.

Compared to other people’s testimonies, my story is a bit different as I grew up in a Christian home and to me doesn’t seem too special but I realized in all honesty that everyone's story of how they found Jesus and were transformed by Him personally is not only special but extraordinary and beautiful. So I wanted to share mine.

Now for some background, I was born into a Christian family and both of my parents were raised in Christian homes as well so needless to say I was born into my faith you could say. Growing up I went to church, prayed at meals, and listened to Christian music. All the things a Jesus follower "should" do. However, it wasn't until I was 14 and more 15 years old that I started reading the Bible every day and grasped what it looks like to start and have a relationship with God and walk with him daily. I've realized following him requires self-discipline and is more than just sitting in a church building on Sundays. So here's my story of FORTUNATE events that have led me to where I am to this day.

When I was 14 years old I moved from Florida over 1,000 miles away up north. This for sure was the most challenging time of my life yet and this is when I think I first learned to truly turn to God. To give some more background, up to this point I used to do devotionals and read a verse or two without context and think that was "enough" however if you don't know the characteristics of your creator or don't have clear standards how are you going to recognize things? Exactly. Anyway so during this time that's what I was still doing. I'd read random passages and whatnot and that was "enough." Why this time in my life sticks out and I think was the start to a bigger picture is because this is when I started to learn to trust God; it's when I learned to pray to God about things. A stepping stone perse. The move was so hard on me and I failed to see how things would work out but yet I was hopeful at the same time and I kept lifting things to God and trying my best to have faith in his perfect plan. I started prayer journaling and it became my favorite time of day. The year after we moved was not easy I was faced with a good bit of adversity but I can see now everything I faced helped shape me already into who I am today. Fast forward to spring of 2018. I wasn't spending as much time prayer journaling anymore and I started making some decisions that were not the wisest. From this, I knew something HAD to change. So one day I looked up on Pinterest (of all places) where the best place to start reading the Bible for beginners was and I just started. I first started in the book of James and from there I hopped around every day. I didn't know what I was doing but I showed up and things haven't been the same since.

I think starting is the most intimidating part and understanding the purpose. Some people argue that the Bible is "outdated" and don’t see the point in it and while yes times have certainly changed I think the Word of God is timeless and always applicable. For instance, the first few chapters of the Old Testament don’t seem to have a purpose in today's society necessarily because it’s the story of Gods chosen people the Israelites exodus out of Egypt with crazy tasks and offerings and instructions but to me, this shows that God has extreme order and purpose. Shows how faithful God is. Every part of the Bible has a purpose. In Deuteronomy, in the New Living Translation of the Bible, the Bible is described multiple times as the book of instruction and that’s exactly what it is It’s an opportunity to know the character of God.

This is slightly off the beaten path...but in the book, Pilgrims Progress Christian, (the protagonist) describes how the Christian walk does not have a wide gate contrastingly a narrow gate and it's true. People often question why bad things happen and think that walking with Jesus will magically make problems dissipate and it will be smooth sailing but when it's not all peaches and cream people doubt and fall away. Adversity still rises, but what I've learned since finding Jesus for myself is that things don't get easier... you learn how to view situations from a different perspective. For me, I know that nothing happens without purpose and that you wouldn't be facing what you are unless you were MEANT to. I also have come to the ever-growing paragraph (not conclusion because this isn't the end of this story) that you can learn something from EVERYTHING.

I still have a long way to go, and I struggle every day with sin just like everyone else but my World has changed. Although it's sometimes a difficulty to spend time in the Word and pray every day, I have never regretted spending any amount of time in my day with God. He truly is in everything.

I'm nowhere near perfect, but this is my walk and I'm proudly turning corners everyday!!! <3

Until next time,

Mimi K