Discovering God in a Desperate Prayer

“I was at my wit’s end,” Shirley said. “I thought I was drowning, and it felt like no one was helping me — nobody.”

Shirley’s son had experienced one health crisis after another. Born with a genetic disorder that went undiagnosed until he was seven years old, he had also been living with epilepsy and suffered a stroke. Now, he was potentially facing amputation. What started as a simple toe infection led to a bone infection that required a special surgery. Shirley’s husband, Tai, had also been recently diagnosed with dementia. Everything in Shirley’s world seemed to be sick and falling apart.

She was completely overwhelmed by these relentless health battles. The hospital visits seemed endless, the financial burden overwhelming. Shirley felt like she’d given up everything in life, and her family was only barely getting by. There was no end in sight.

“That night I went home and, in tears, cried out to God,” Shirley said. “I didn’t know God at all, I had never been to church or read a Bible, but I asked him to help my son, Steven. I told him that I trusted him with Steven’s life.”

The passionate cry that came out of Shirley that night didn’t go unheard. Though she lacked the words to describe it at the time, she felt a sense of peace settle over her, and her anxiety about her son’s health subsided.

A few weeks later, while looking through the bookshelves in a local secondhand store, Shirley found a copy ofThe Purpose Driven Life— a book she had heard about but hadn’t given much thought or attention to before feeling God’s response to her prayer. Shirley spent the next 40 days going through the book and resolved to find a church, dedicating her life to following God.

When Shirley walked out of the secondhand store, she saw a sign on the other side of the parking lot that she’d never noticed before: Saddleback Church Corona. She went home, googled the name, and found out the grand opening for the campus’s new location was happening soon. At the same time, Shirley discovered both the book that helped her shift her focus toward God and a new church she’d like to attend.

Shirley was a little nervous about how Steven would respond to attending church — and also how other people would respond to him being there. The large number of visitors that came to check out Saddleback Corona the first weekend didn’t deter Shirley from trying to find a church and getting to know God more. She felt warmly welcomed, and more importantly, she felt like it was a place her entire family could belong.

“My first time at Saddleback, I met Kathy who I immediately connected with — we’ve been soul sisters ever since,” Shirley said. “The strength and knowledge she has — she always has a smile on her face, no matter what she’s going through. Her faith is so strong, and it’s been such an encouragement to see that example. We’ve been in small groups together, we meet together, pray for each other, encourage each other now.

“My church family is growing me and my beliefs and my faith. When I came here I didn’t know anything, so I came ready and willing to learn. I signed up for Class 101 and became a member as soon as I could. Then, I joined a small group.

“I always feel safe asking any questions. My small group is reading the book of Job together right now, and at first, I was really confused with the story. But [I’ve learned a lot] through asking questions and everyone helping me talk through and understand the things we’re reading together.

“Until you’re in a small group, you have no idea what a strong community of people like that can mean to you. My group helps make me learn and makes my faith in God much stronger.”

“Through my husband’s and son’s health issues, we have lost everything. We had everything that most people think you’d want in the world. But really that doesn’t matter, it’s what your soul needs, is Jesus.”

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