I was raised in a loving Christian home with my mother, father, and brother, where we lived a 'normal' life.  However, when I was fourteen years old, my mother died suddenly from a massive stroke and I was angry at God for taking my mother so soon from me.  After that, our family stopped going to church and life became one big blur.  At that time, I was in the 9th grade and my brother was in 2nd grade.  Though I faced many challenges during this time period in my life, I know now that God was watching over me and protecting me, even when I did not have a personal relationship with Him.

          I met my first real boyfriend in my senior year and his family went to church, so I tagged along with them.  Although I was comforted by my relationship with Don, I knew that something was still missing in my life.  Shortly after, Don enlisted into the United States Army and I was devastated and felt like my whole world had shattered.  During this time, I went to church every week and kept busy attending nursing school.  After Don's Basic Training, there was a possibility of him being stationed in Vietnam.  I prayed and prayed, asking God to send him anywhere but there.  It was not by chance that the Army lost Don's records between Basic Training and his Advanced Individual Training, causing him to start six weeks later than the rest of the soldiers.  His group wound up going everywhere BUT Vietnam! 

          Don and I had dated for some time and we eventually got married while he was still enlisted in the Army.  One night, Don had guard duty, so I decided to watch some television.  As I was flipping through the channels, I saw a commercial for what I thought was a bowling program, so I chose to watch it.  It turned out to be the 700 Club, so the next day I told Don that I had watched a Christian Johnny Carson.  Soon after, we watched the next program together and the host spoke about Jesus as a 'personal Savior'.  I realized then that I only knew of Jesus but I really did not know Him as my personal Savior.  The speaker asked if anyone wanted to know Jesus in a more personal way, have their sins washed away, and give their hearts to Him.  He invited everyone to kneel down beside the television and pray with him and that is precisely what my husband and I did.  At that instant, it was like a light bulb went off inside and it became crystal clear to me what had been missing my entire life; it was Jesus and now I was no longer empty!

          Since then, my life has had its ups and downs but Jesus has been with me every step of the way.  He has given me the strength and courage to press on despite life's troubles and trust Him to work all thing together for the good.  "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)