No matter where you are in your faith journey, you have probably had someone that has had an impact on your relationship with God.
Whoever it was, they helped shape your faith and guide you on your journey with Christ.
For some people, their faith journey is long and winding with many different people playing a role. Others have a more linear journey, with one or two people having a major impact.
But no matter what your journey looks like, there is always someone that has helped you along the way.
There are four distinct people that have played a major role in different times throughout my life, and they have had the biggest impact on my faith journey and my walk with Jesus Christ.
I am very grateful to God for the privilege of having them in my life.
I am thankful to God for my sister Robin. She is the person who first brought me to really know God.
When I was a very young child my mom took me to church on Sunday’s, but being so young I of course didn’t remember much.
Around the age of 12 is when I started going to my sister’s church. And that is when my true walk with God first began.
I still remember the moment I was saved, I remember whispering to Robin during the service that I wanted to be saved, and she was right there by my side when I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior.
And for this I am eternally thankful to her, & to God for having her in my life.
My faith in God wouldn’t be what it is today if it weren’t for my best friend Anna Wilson.
From the first day of Kindergarten and everyday after that we were inseparable.
When we were 15, she introduced me to her church, and after going with her that first time, I was hooked.
The years I spent there are some of the happiest memories of my life. We were always there. Every Wednesday evening, & every Sunday.
One of the most important things to happen in my life is the day Anna and I were baptized together. I will never forget that day.
It was a very special moment, and I hold it very close to my heart. We did great things together at that church.
We did a lot of community service, we would visit nursing homes witnessing to other people about God, we participated in making spaghetti dinners for the community, & the list goes on.
There is no better feeling than knowing that you are doing God’s work, spreading His gospel and helping others.
Anna is a very important person in my life, we experienced a lot of things together in our walk together with Christ that have shaped me into the person I am now. And, for this I am eternally thankful for having Anna in my life.
It was during those years at East Valdese Baptist Church, when we had a new youth minister come to us, I remember he was fresh out of Gardner-Webb University.
His name is Greg Klapp. He too played a vital role in my life with my spiritual faith. We all took to him immediately.
He was very kind, and he loved God very much, and that showed through in his sermons to us. He took us on a lot of fun Christian outings that I will never forget.
Like the time he took us ice skating, & the time we went to a Christian concert where Michael W. Smith performed.
We also went to Bridgewater Christian College for a week, and I will never forget the white water rafting trip on the Nantahala River.
We always had so much fun in everything that we did. Whether it was just sitting around discussing scripture or doing community service, or just hanging out at church socializing with everyone.
These memories I will always hold dear and near to my heart.
And lastly, the person who has had the biggest impact on my journey with God, is the most important person in my life, my daughter Taylar.
When I think about her, the young woman she has grown into, tears fill my eyes.
From the first moments of her life in this world, I would tell her about Jesus, and we would have our special little talks about God and the Bible.
I always taught her to care for other people & to put other people’s needs ahead of her own. I would talk with her about Jesus, and the sacrifice that He made for all of us in this world.
Taylar is a beautiful person inside and out. She truly loves Jesus Christ with all of her heart, and I can see it in so many ways in how she is living her life.
She is all grown up now, and we still have our little talks about God, and the Bible. I love and cherish the relationship she and I have.
We have a lot more than just a mother and daughter relationship, it goes way deeper than that. We can talk about anything with one another, and I believe this is really important.
Our relationship has experienced a lot of pain and adversity along the way, but I believe it has made our bond together even stronger.
Both of us have faith in God that is unshakeable, and unbreakable. I am very proud of her, & I know that Travis too would be so incredibly proud of her, and the amazing young woman she is now.
I know that no matter how bad the storm in our lives may be, we never have left each other’s side, and God never abandoned us and we know that He never will.
