My Testimony//Part 4 *Finale*

The week after making the official announcement that we would be joining Church A, my parents met with the pastor of this church, and they decided to join on January 19, 2020, exactly 8 months after leaving our old church. That evening service, the pastor called my family up, as he already knew we were joining, and I cannot describe how full my heart was. Even as I type this, my heartbeat quickens just thinking about it. It was the best feeling ever. 

So, it's practically been a year since my family joined "Church A" (and yes, the church does have an actual name ;)). What have I learned? I've learned so much. Seriously. I've learned to trust God through it all, the tough times and the smooth times. In February 2020, the church had a revival. One of those nights I made the commitment (to myself and to God) to make 2020 my year to grow closer to the Lord, continuing on my journey of growing closer to Him. That was my goal last year, and wow has the Lord shown me so much! I share my testimony with you for multiple reasons. 

First off, I wanted to share it with you because we are coming up on a year since we joined this church. It felt right to post this now because this church has been such a huge part in my testimony. I cannot imagine what my life would look like if I had stayed at my old church. 2020 has been a rough year for everyone, and if I had not gone through what I did back in 2019, learning to trust Jesus through it all, I'm not sure I would have made it through. God has taught me that I can do nothing without Him. I am weak, but He is strong (sound familiar?). While there have been plenty of tough days, especially when our church had to go completely online for several months, God has proven Himself faithful through it all. 

Second, I wanted to share my story because I know that there are so many people who are struggling with trusting God. While many of us have been told, "God's plan is always better," it's so much harder to see that when you are in the middle of a storm. I hope my story will encourage you to trust in Jesus, because He wants the best for you. Let me say that again: God wants the absolute best for you, His child. He will never do anything to purposely harm you!

I also want to point out that while yes, I did learn a lot about trusting God, I am in no way perfect. I still struggle with wanting my plan to work out. I think the biggest lesson I learned was how to let go when it was obvious that my plan and God's plan wasn't the same. However, I am still learning to trust in the process, especially when the process doesn't make sense (in my finite mind). 

I hope that my story has encouraged you today! I hope to continue to share with y'all my journey of growing closer to the Lord!