Jodie's story
John 3:16-17: God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him won’t perish but will have eternal life. God didn’t send His son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
I wouldn’t give my son’s or daughter for anyone, can you imagine? Someone loving you so much they
would sacrifice their most precious gift so that you would not be lost? I couldn’t. I couldn’t imagine God
caring enough about me to do something so profound. I was a worthless sinner, undeserving and
unworthy. You may be worth saving, but I was not. I was doing everything I shouldn’t, everything I
could to numb the pain of a life filled with guilt, regret, sorrow, hatred, and hopelessness. No one was
coming to save me. At least that is how I felt.
God works in mysterious ways.
You hear people say that all the time, what does that even mean? I used to think it was the dumbest
thing to say. Of course He works in mysterious ways, that’s how you explain something you can’t
explain! When people are grieving the unimaginable, crying out because they feel that God has left
them. “Don’t worry, God will bring something good out of this, He works in mysterious ways.” I
wanted to punch people for saying that, what a cop out. You know what, He does. I look back at my 40
year journey, and all I can see now is all the little tiny ways God slowly brought me to Him. I have been
brought to my knees countless times, prayed for God to save me, heal me, give me comfort, asked Him
why He was allowing all these things to happen to me, and finally to make me His own. You know what?
He was listening, my life is being resurrected.
Baptism
It’s funny how you can fight against something and then in one second God can open your eyes to the
truth. Honestly, it kind of blew me away. I always saw baptism as something you did when you
dedicated your life to Christ, ready to take Him as your Lord and savior. And it is, truly. I envisioned that
time being at the end of my journey, when I had learned everything that I needed to know to follow
Christ. Three weeks ago it hit me that I was wrong. Baptism is not an end to a journey, nor is it the
beginning. Baptism is my renewal, the moment that you say yes God. Yes, I will lay down the sins of my
past. Yes, I will pick up my cross and I will follow you. Yes, I need you as my Lord and savior. Yes, I will
follow you. I may not know the who, what, where, when, why, or how, but I am willing to trust you to
show me the way. Simply, yes God I am yours.
I wouldn’t give my son’s or daughter for anyone, can you imagine? Someone loving you so much they
would sacrifice their most precious gift so that you would not be lost? I couldn’t. I couldn’t imagine God
caring enough about me to do something so profound. I was a worthless sinner, undeserving and
unworthy. You may be worth saving, but I was not. I was doing everything I shouldn’t, everything I
could to numb the pain of a life filled with guilt, regret, sorrow, hatred, and hopelessness. No one was
coming to save me. At least that is how I felt.
God works in mysterious ways.
You hear people say that all the time, what does that even mean? I used to think it was the dumbest
thing to say. Of course He works in mysterious ways, that’s how you explain something you can’t
explain! When people are grieving the unimaginable, crying out because they feel that God has left
them. “Don’t worry, God will bring something good out of this, He works in mysterious ways.” I
wanted to punch people for saying that, what a cop out. You know what, He does. I look back at my 40
year journey, and all I can see now is all the little tiny ways God slowly brought me to Him. I have been
brought to my knees countless times, prayed for God to save me, heal me, give me comfort, asked Him
why He was allowing all these things to happen to me, and finally to make me His own. You know what?
He was listening, my life is being resurrected.
Baptism
It’s funny how you can fight against something and then in one second God can open your eyes to the
truth. Honestly, it kind of blew me away. I always saw baptism as something you did when you
dedicated your life to Christ, ready to take Him as your Lord and savior. And it is, truly. I envisioned that
time being at the end of my journey, when I had learned everything that I needed to know to follow
Christ. Three weeks ago it hit me that I was wrong. Baptism is not an end to a journey, nor is it the
beginning. Baptism is my renewal, the moment that you say yes God. Yes, I will lay down the sins of my
past. Yes, I will pick up my cross and I will follow you. Yes, I need you as my Lord and savior. Yes, I will
follow you. I may not know the who, what, where, when, why, or how, but I am willing to trust you to
show me the way. Simply, yes God I am yours.
