In late 2001, when I was 31, I came to God. I was pretty much a wreck at the time, deeply depressed, with difficult health problems and a lot of anxiety. The future seemed unbearable, and I didn’t know how I could keep getting through the days.
I hadn’t attended church since I was in high school. I believed in God, but I didn’t read the Bible, and I only prayed when I was in crisis. Mostly, I ignored God, going about my life, making choices, doing the best I could, on my own, without Him.
But what I was doing wasn’t working. Depression and anxiety were taking over, and the fight was starting to seem unwinnable. I was suicidal, and no one knew it but me.
In the fall of 2001, Angie, my lifelong friend and lifelong Christian, sent me an unexpected package. It was an early Christmas present, a Bible with my name embossed on it. Included with the Bible was a passionate plea for me to invite God into my life.
Angie’s letter got through to me. It was the right time for me to hear her words.The timing couldn’t have been better, because it was God’s timing. He who knows all knew what was hidden from everyone else, and He acted!
I was ready to put both feet in and really believe.
I started reading the Bible in the book of John. I learned so much about Who Jesus is and how He became our Savior by reading John. If you’re looking for a good place to start reading the Bible, the book of John chronicles the life of Jesus, from birth to death to resurrection. John also goes into detail about the identity of Jesus, His relationship with God the Father, and, in later chapters, the gift Jesus left believers with when He returned to the Father after His resurrection from the dead–the Holy Spirit.
God came into my life all of a sudden, and that’s what I needed! I will forever be flattered that God saw me, that He knew who I was, and He cared enough about my life to send a friend to connect me to Him!
This is a Scripture that perfectly describes what God did for me…
In Psalms, chapter 118, verse 17, it is written:
I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done. [NIV Bible]