Finding a Way Back to God
11/03/2019 .My mom was a prayer warrior. I remember growing up and watching her pray for me and my siblings. In my 20s, I became too busy to make time for God, but my mom kept on praying. No matter what, she wouldn’t quit.
From my late teens to my adult life, I kept slipping further and further away from God. I don’t even know how it happened. The distance between God and me just kept growing. It was like I didn’t want anything to do with him. I didn’t remember the commitments I made to him as a teenager or all the things he’d done for me throughout my life.
I stayed disconnected from God until about 10 years ago. My husband and I had moved to Southern California, and that’s when I found Saddleback Church and decided to give my relationship with God another chance. I prayed and asked God to bring a desire in me to connect with him through prayer and his Word.
In 2011, I took a year off of work and decided that I wanted to really focus on my relationship with God. I attended as many Bible studies and classes at Saddleback that I could. I was desperate to determine my purpose and calling in life. One of the things that surprised me as I kept searching was that I seemed to have a gift for prayer ministry.
I didn’t think that I could pray at all, so at first, I totally rejected the idea. I told God that he had the wrong person, that I couldn’t pray at all. But God kept showing me that prayer was what he wanted me to focus on. I remember calling my mom around that time and thanking her for all the prayers she prayed over the years. Her prayers had made a difference in my life and brought me back to God. Her faith kept me going even when I didn’t have any.
I began practicing prayer everywhere I went, praying for everyone I saw. If I was in a grocery store and passed someone more than once, I would pray for them. I didn’t even know them, but I would pray anyway.
In 2013, I began to experience chronic pain. It got so bad that I could only get around with the aid of a cane. I didn’t quit working because I wanted to keep my mind busy even though my body seemed to be failing me. Doctors didn’t know the cause, and I didn’t know if there was a purpose to it or not, but I told God that I would praise and serve him whether he took my pain away or not. I remember one day at work, when I was walking through the parking lot, a woman stopped and asked how she could pray for me. I told her about my pain and the lack of diagnosis, and then she prayed.
After she finished, I asked her why she would take the time to pray for me. She responded that she’s always looking for people to serve, and when she saw me she wanted to know if she could do anything to help. That was a turning point. Over the next several months, I connected with a doctor who helped me get to the cause of my chronic pain and began treatment to get healthy again.
Now, I’m running 5Ks and 10Ks, climbing, and hiking. None of the symptoms that I experienced before have returned. And I’ve joined the prayer ministry at Saddleback Church, first at Aliso Viejo, and more recently at the Laguna Woods campus.
I was the prayer ministry leader at one of the campuses before my husband and I moved to Laguna Woods. I was praying and asking God how he wanted me to stay involved, and this opportunity came up to partner with these students going on a PEACE trip. And I just felt God say, “Yes, this is what I want you to do.”
When the chance to partner with students and the prayer warriors at our campus came up, I jumped at the opportunity. It’s so great to connect with these young people, hear their stories, and then get to partner with them as they go and share their stories and ministries with other churches around the world.
I’m excited to pray for the students to see the difference they can make. I love their passion and energy. They are so bold and so obedient, and I’m praying that they will go out and do what God has called them to do.