Faith in Progress

HELLO

My Faith Journey

I feel like God has been placing it on my heart to share my testimony for a long time now. And if I’m being honest, I’ve started and stopped this more times than I can count.

There are so many reasons why, from wanting to be respectful of others whose stories are intertwined with mine, not wanting to seem ungrateful, and honestly just the vulnerability that comes with sharing your faith journey out loud.

But my intention here is simple: to share my story as honestly as I can, while protecting others and honoring what God has done in my life.

One of my earliest memories of faith isn’t just going to church, it’s Scripture.

My paternal grandmother Doris had me memorize verses as a child, and one that has stayed with me all these years is:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

Even then, before I fully understood what it meant, those words were being planted in me. And looking back now, I can see how true they’ve always been.

God has guided me, provided for me, and covered me, even in seasons where I didn’t fully recognize it. Even in moments where life felt uncertain or unstable, I was never without what I truly needed.

Raise your hand if you were a church bus kid…*raises hand*

Some of my earliest memories of church are of me getting myself up, getting ready, and hopping on the church van alone. To this day, I’m a little unclear how I even got signed up, but I like to imagine a tiny version of me, like Matilda, calling the church myself and getting on the list. (I was very advanced on the landline… shoutout to my fellow landline girlies.)

As you can probably imagine, if I was going to church solo as a young child, my home life had its challenges. But church? Church was a gift.

I loved it. I sang every song (and I still stand by the fact that I can out-sing anyone to “Father Abraham” 😌). I loved reading the Bible! I’ve actually kept the same Bible to this day, gifted by grandmother Doris.

Church became a refuge for me. A place where I felt seen, safe, and connected to something bigger than myself.

I gave my life to Christ and was baptized while I was still in elementary school.

And let me tell you… when I got home and told my mom, there was a reaction 😅 She wasn’t exactly thrilled that I had made that decision on my own, at such a young age. But even then, I knew it was something I truly wanted.

So I’ve been walking with God for most of my life, even if that walk hasn’t always been perfect or easy.

One thing I know to be true is this: God has never allowed me to look like what I’ve been through.

My life hasn’t been without challenges. Though I know from the outside it may not look that way. But time and time again, He has carried me through, lifted me out, and placed me into something better.

And while I give all glory to God, I’ll also say this, I work. I show up. I keep going. My sister once described me as a duck: calm on the surface, but underneath? Kicking nonstop. And that feels very true to who I am.

As I got older, going to college and studying psychology and elementary education really shifted my perspective.

Through education, therapy, and my relationship with God, I began to understand my upbringing in a new way. Not through blame, but through compassion.

I learned that sometimes people are simply products of what they’ve experienced and what they haven’t yet healed from. And that understanding helped me begin the process of forgiveness.

For as long as I can remember, my heart’s desire was to have a family of my own.

And God, in His goodness, gave me exactly that.

An amazing husband. My beautiful sons. And even the gift of reconnecting with extended family on both sides. It’s a kind of fullness that I don’t take lightly.

God continues to provide for me in ways that feel abundant, not just materially, but emotionally, spiritually, and relationally.

And while I know that His love isn’t something we earn, I truly hope that my life reflects Him. I pray that I bear good fruit. That I am a blessing to those I encounter.
And that when people meet me… they see Him in me.

This is my testimony, still unfolding, still growing.

My faith is not perfect. It is a process. A journey. A constant returning. And I’ll continue to share more as God brings things to my heart.

peace