Thanks to God (and Mom)

There was nothing particularly exceptional about my childhood. In fact, I remember very little of it ( a fact that grieves my mother because it was apparently the best time of my life).

I was born in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada into a blended family with very little money. I don't ever remember that affecting me as a child, however. What I do remember more than anything else is the impact my mother had on my life.

My mom is a devout Christian who embodies love, gentleness, patience and kindness. She is the mom everyone wants and many of my friends throughout my childhood and teen years would adopt as their own. With her there is always a safe place, a listening ear and a firm but loving word of correction or encouragement. Had I not had her in the background of my life I believe things would have turned out very differently. No matter where I was or what I was doing, she was there in the back of my mind and in my heart. The character that she had worked so hard to instill through years of hard work, prayer, discipline and teaching was always there below the surface. And many years later, through the grace of God alone everything I had known to be true but resisted my whole life became everything I desired and lived for: a life surrendered fully to Jesus Christ.

I know that at this point the story sounds somewhat trite. A nice little girl born into a poor but loving family who found the strength in God to overcome adversity and succeed in life. NOT SO.

My father was an alcoholic. A fact that I would not fully understand until the age of 14 but that would cause life as I knew to be altered forever. A fact that could not be unlearned and that has led my life down a surprising path full of disappointment, heartache and fear. A fact that God has since used to strengthen and grow me; to make beauty for ashes in my life; and to enable me to help others who find that life is not what they dreamed it would one day be.

Please understand that my intention here is not to have you feel sorry for me or to have attention drawn to myself or my life. It is rather to point to a God who is able to take a life that has been destroyed by circumstances and bad decisions and turn it around completely. It is to show people a God who cares deeply for the state they find themselves in and desires nothing more than to offer hope, healing and joy.

As my story unfolds day after day, I hope that you are able to find something that you can identify with. my life has been a journey full of abuse, addictions, failure, sin, promiscuity, feelings of worthlessness and depression. However, it is now a journey of healing, restoration, hope, purpose, passion, love and redemption. I hope that through Jesus Christ, you will find the same.

A Bit of Me

I am a pastor. And because of that, I have often struggled with how much of the truth of myself I should make know to those around me. If people were to know who I really am, where I come from, what I have done, would my credibility be lost? I hope not, because I believe that my past, my struggles, my choices and the deliverance from those things are what makes my testimony strong and causes people to see in me not a perfect woman but a life redeemed from the pit of hell into the kingdom of God: Restored, renewed and transformed to be used to transform others.
In short, I believe God wants to use my life experience to offer hope to a world who desperately needs it.
I am not extraordinary. But God has done and is doing extraordinary things in and through me.
For His sake and to glorify his name, I want to share my story with you.