I have always gone to church all my life.  I went because it was the thing to do in my household.  Although I was surrounded by Biblical teaching, I didn’t completely understand how much Christ wanted to have a relationship with me.  In the fall of my 2^nd year at UGA, my mother died of a heart attack.  Up until that horrible day, I realized that I had taken life for granted and that my days, too, were numbered.  I began to see that there were no guarantees in life.

Instead of seeking God’s comfort during that time of loss, I began to get angry with Him.  I felt like He had let me down because He had taken someone so special and important to me.  As a result of my anger, I rebelled and stopped going to church and reading the Bible.

This summer, before beginning my 4th year at UGA, I finally made peace with God.  One day while traveling down the road in my car, I was listening to one of my mother’s favorite gospel songs.  I was so overcome with emotion that I began to cry as I listened to these words, “The battle’s not yours, it’s the Lord’s.  There’s no pain Jesus can’t fix; there’s no hurt He cannot heal.”  The words were comforting to me because I knew that this song was describing how my mother felt about her life with the Lord.  I then asked God for forgiveness and to be the ruler of my life.  I wanted to be used by Him, as He used my mother in the lives of those surrounding her.

Everyday I become closer to Christ.  I have more peace in my relationship with Him.  I try not to be a bitter person and live life to the fullest.  I want my life to be surrendered to Him and I try to do the things He wants me to do.  One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Job 1:21, which says, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!”  Although God chose my mother to be with Him earlier than I had expected, I can still praise Him for all that He has given and continues to give me!

 
Learn more about making peace with God or how to live in Christ.