I was born in a Christian home and raised by two very strong Christian parents. I said a prayer of faith at the age of four, but only began to truly understand Christ's sacrifice and atoning death when I was nine, though even then, I was a long way from understanding it all (as I am now!). I was baptized at nine years old by my dad, who was the associate pastor of the First Baptist Church in a small town in northern B.C. where we lived at the time. From there, I began my trek down the path that leads to a maturity in faith. When I think about where I was at age nine, and now, five years later, where the Lord has brought me, it's incredible! I understand that through situations and circumstances, the Lord has been working in it all to draw me closer to Himself. I praise Him for that!
I praise Him for moving us to Texas when I was nine and a half, where I got the opportunity to be a part of a strong, Christian pre-teen group, where I was surrounded with believers my own age. I praise God for moving us to Halifax, Nova Scotia, when I was 12, where my dad became the pastor of a small baptist church! I praise God that He doesn't give up on me, even when I feel like I'm a failure and that I can never be used by Him. I praise Him that He never stops teaching me how to be more faithful to Him. I thank Him for saving me from "the domain of darkness" and transferring me into "the kingdom of the son He loves." (Colossians 1:13) And I praise Him that "we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, in Him." (Colossians 1:14)
I'm excited for the future, for what God has in store for me! I know that He's not finished with me yet, and I look forward to being used as His ambassador for the gospel (Ephesians 6:17-20). I gladly say with Hannah Farver,
"I take encouragement from John 16:33. It promises a story complete with tears and the occasional burning down of dreams, but also a happy ending forever: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." He has overcome. It's happened. It's happening. We have hope for a happy ending (...or is it really a glorious new beginning?)"