Inspiring Stories

I'm feeling a bit down and I feel in the mood for some inspiring stories. So I thought, "Why not gather some of the lovely Christian women on the Glow community and all share some encouraging religious stories." So how about it? If you feel comfortable doing so, share a religious story in the comments. It could be your testimony. It could be a time you almost gave up and God pulled you through. It could be a time when God saved you from certain disaster. It could be anything! To start things off, I'll leave my testimony below.

Honestly, there are several reasons I came to accept Christ. I was very young when I accepted him, and my dog, who'd been one of my growing up buddies, had just died. One of the reasons I accepted was because, upon my dog dying, I realized that, unlike animals, humans have a soul that lives on, and I knew where I wanted my soul to go after death. Another, more prevalent reason, however, would be that I didn't really have a dad while growing up. My birth-parents both smoked, drank alcohol and did drugs during my birth-mother's pregnancy and after I was born (them doing this led to me having some medical issues that still affect me). Soon after I was born it was quickly realized that my birth-parents were unfit to raise me, so it was decided that I would live with my grandmother, who eventually adopted me (now she's my mom, and will be referred to as so for the rest of this story). Long before I was born, my mom had gotten a divorce when her husband had an affair, so there was rarely a male figure around the house. My mom was an amazing parent (and still is). She fed me, cleaned me, disciplined me, supported me. She did everything she needed to. But for some reason the absence of a patriarchal figure in my life was always extremely prevalent in my conscience. Not to mention being an only child living on 3 acres of land. (Looking back, that's really not a lot of land, but it probably seemed like more because I was smaller. The point is that I was lonely.) I don't remember the moment exactly, but I remember being in Sunday school when one of the teachers said that God is our heavenly Father and He loves all of us. She said that, when we accept Jesus, we become brothers and sisters in Christ. We become a family. I spent the next few months contemplating that. After a few months I accepted Christ. It didn't hit me immediately, but a few days later I had the sudden realization that I had been adopted for the second time in my life. The first time I had been adopted into a worldly family that had, thankfully, introduced me to God in the first place. The second time I had been adopted into God's family. I now had brothers and sisters, held together by our faith. But more importantly, I had a Father! I had a heavenly Father who loved me and cared for me and literally could not do wrong. I had my Abba Father! I had my Dad! I didn't absorb that fact all too much in the moment, but, looking back, the constant assurance that my Father is always watching me and caring for me has truly helped me through the trials I've faced.

I hope my story was an encouragement. Please, if you feel comfortable, share your story below. And remember, we are not here right now to beat down others for the experiences and stories they share. We are here to share our stories and build each other up.