Debbie's Story

"I grew up attending a Catholic church, fulfilling the ceremonies of first Holy Communion and confirmation but never fully understanding the reasoning behind the rituals of the mass. I also wasn't keen on having to confess to a strange priest each week. Therefore, I quit attending services after my confirmation at age 12. I understood Jesus to be my Savior and that I needed daily forgiveness for my sins. I still prayed each day, but my prayers were no longer rote. They were more like personal conversations with God. The further I separated myself from the Catholic church, the more I wondered about other faiths and their focus on the Bible, which was something that was never introduced to me during my years of catechism classes.

"At the very young age of 20, I got married and moved to Georgia, away from my family in Fort Lauderdale. The relationship turned sour, and after several years of living in this abusive relationship, I began attending a Methodist church. It seemed more comfortable than any Catholic church I had attended. Still, I felt something was missing. I now owned a Bible, which I read from time to time, but I didn't quite understand how to study it. After nearly 5 years of marriage, I became pregnant with my daughter, Erica. I had her christened in the Methodist church where she and I continued attending until I moved to Colorado. During that time, I divorced her father and later married my wonderful husband, Joe.

"We were now a family of 5, with Joe's son Andrew being the oldest. His daughter Amanda was the same age as Erica. Joe also was raised Catholic but had similar issues with the church. For the first few years of our marriage, we bounced around churches as we moved from one air force assignment to another. We never felt that we truly found a church home. It wasn't until Andrew was a teenager that we realized how critical it was to raise our children in a disciplined Christian home. Andrew's exposure (and ours) to the modern teenage world literally scared us into action. Joe and I finally and fully opened our eyes to the terrific responsibility we have as parents to teach the Bible to our children and to dedicate our lives to Christ Jesus. We began attending a church where many of our friends from the Air Force base also attended. We finally found a church home that based what they did on the Bible. As we plugged ourselves into Bible studies and got the kids involved in youth groups, we all began to learn what it truly means to be a Christian and how to live God's way. Instead of parenting by gut instinct, we used the Bible to guide us in raising our children, and living our daily lives.

"Our children are now ages 18 and 21, and I am thrilled to say that all of us are plugged into God and are actively involved in local churches. My Christian faith has allowed me to reprioritize my life so cultural influences do not so easily dictate my lifestyle. Instead, God does. I am so grateful that God has worked in my heart over the years, and also in the hearts of my family—and just in the nick of time!"