I’m one of the fortunate ones. God, belief, church have always been a part of my life. As a young child, I remember always going to church with my family. There were men and women in my church who poured their lives into mine, helping me to understand the teachings of Jesus and – more importantly – helping me understand how Jesus’ teachings were relevant to my life and my way of living.

When I was 8 years old, I remember one very special evening. My mom was tucking me in bed, telling me goodnight, saying my prayers with me. Then, she began to share with me about how my sin – unconfessed and unforgiven – separated me from God. She explained how Jesus died on the cross, so that my sins could be forgiven and my relationship with God restored. She prayed with me as I admitted my sin, asked God to forgive my sin, accepted Jesus as my Savior, and gave Him control of my life. On that one special night, I made the most important decision of my life. One decision that guaranteed my future…an eternal life with God.

Throughout my youth and college years, again, I was one of the fortunate ones. There were mentors, teachers, pastors, and friends who supported me, encouraged me, taught me, and prayed for me. These people had incredible influence in my life, and in who I was becoming. Of course, I failed often…after all, I am human and I was in college! But, I was surrounded by people who cared, people who held me accountable, people who encouraged me and helped me to live a life pleasing to God.

After college, I attended Seminary and then made the decision to enter full-time Christian ministry. One decision that still directs the course of my life. After becoming a pastor, however, I met with much opposition, judgment, and many roadblocks. You see, not everyone was (or is) supportive of female pastors. I found myself asking God one question – over and over: “God, why have you brought me this far for this to happen? For me to meet such opposition and judgment? Why have you called me and gifted me…just for me to meet such opposition? Was I wrong? Did you really not call me?” And then, in one life-altering moment, God enabled me to see, know, feel that He had called me. That He created me and loved me and pursued me everyday with His love and grace. God hadn’t called and gifted me so that I could meet with opposition. God had called me and gifted me so that I could overcome opposition, and rest in Him.

There have been many ones in my life: one evening, one prayer, one decision, one moment, one realization. All of these ones, however, always point me to the One True God who loves me with One Perfect Love.

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My one story took place four years ago, when I first met my wife, Martina. At the time, we were separated by 4000 miles and an ocean and got to know one another by chatting online.

As time moved on, we began to realize that we wanted to try and make a relationship out of our commonalities, despite the distance. We began to talk more and more and realized that we wanted to be together.

Distance aside, there was another stumbling block, though I didn’t know it at the time: I was raised in the Catholic Church and stopped going when my parents stopped going, immediately following their divorce, when I was 9 years old. I began to grow apart from God as my love of science and theory took over. Any hint of faith I had that there was a higher power was being clouded over by my hunger for knowing how and why things work, something which I could not explain nor comprehend when it came to God.

It wasn’t until I met Martina 11 years later that the thought of even considering whether there was a God would cross my mind again. As our relationship deepened, we came to a fork in the road: Martina had been talking to some of her Christian friends about how we were falling for one another, yet was concerned to move forward with a man who didn\’t know Jesus, let alone have him as number one priority in their life. They told her she needed to confront me about it and one night, she did just that. She told me that for the first time, she wasn’t prepared to enter into a relationship without knowing that it was what God had intended for her and that she knew she needed to be with someone who knew God intimately.

It was a very odd thing to experience – I didn’t want to lose this woman that I cared deeply about, but at the same time, I was considering going against what I had been telling myself for the past 11 years.

Well, I made the right choice and discovered a relationship with God. It was like nothing I could have ever imagined and now myself and Martina are happily living together and married, under the authority and guidance of Him, all thanks to that one confrontation.

No similar stories.