From Brokenness to Redemption
Posted on Friday, June 16, 2017 by
Danielle and I have been on a journey together since she showed up at Campus Life over two years ago. She is the student who never hesitated to ask the difficult questions. One of those questions was, "If your God is real then why would bad things keep happening to me?" This is a tough thing for even a mature Christian to grasp, but I was thankful for her transparency. I responded to her question by explaining about the presence of evil and sin in the world. Still she wasn't convinced. That summer Danielle decided to come with us to camp.
This is something she wrote just a couple of days ago, "3 years ago was my first year at camp and Campus Life. I didn't believe in Jesus. I was lost and broken. After my first year of going to camp, I became open to God and began my journey. Going back the second year (last summer) I understood that I needed to go through the struggles I went through to be ready to accept God into my life. As of today I don't know where I would be if I hadn't joined Campus Life and gone to camp. I don't know where I would be if I didn't accept Christ into my life."
A month or so ago Danielle attended Truth Point Church with me, my home church. It was her first Christian church experience. She fell in love with it, taking notes through the entire service. A few weeks later we had a bake sale at the church to raise money for camp, and she was right by my side with a smile on her face telling her story to various members of the congregation. When I first met Danielle she was reluctant to help or serve in any way, but with the Holy Spirit in her life, she has developed a loving and serving heart.
We have started studying scripture together over coffee beginning in the New Testament. She still asks questions, but now they are genuine and growing her spiritually. Please pray for us as we continue to study and grow in our faith together. Danielle leaves for Stetson College in the fall and my prayer is that she will connect with fellow believers there.
- Chelsea Smith