My Story
Do you remember meeting Cynthia Yanof on episode 207? She spoke on Cultivating Character in Our Children and she is a fantastic teacher! She also hosts her own MESSmerized podcast where I remember listening to her interview her pastor, Libin Abraham. He shared an idea that stuck with me:
One of our greatest resources is our story.
God actually taught this first (see Revelation 12:11), but Libin’s words stirred and inspired me to be more bold in sharing my own story.
Libin’s message came the day after our family visited another church to celebrate two of our dear friends getting baptized. The pastor, Tim Harkness, shared helpful insight on the Great Commission, which is found in Matthew 28: 19 – 20.
“‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen” (NKJV).
Tim said that we think “go” is the action verb here because of the English translation. However, in the original text, it actually means “as you are going.” Therefore, as we are homeschooling or as we are working or as we are doing chores around the house, the same action verb is emphasized: “make.” And what are we to make? Disciples. Tim went on to teach how the Bible tells us two ways to “make.” First is baptism and second is teaching them to obey everything God has commanded us. I pondered his teaching, mixed with our experience of Baptism Sunday. I believe baptisms are powerful because when we share our story, God always seems to supernaturally use it to make disciples.
My favorite example of this in the Bible is John 4.
The entire chapter is wonderful, but look at one of the concluding points that is found in the first part of verse 39, “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony” (NIV).
Sharing our story is simply sharing what God has done in our lives. We see much encouragement in the Psalms to do this (examples include Psalms 73:28, Psalms 96:3, and Psalms 107:1-2).
So, I want to go first and share my story with you. Then I would be delighted if you would also share your story with me!! Please email me your story at laura@thesavvysauce.com. I’d love to hear from you!!
These words are dedicated to Him and I pray they bring Him glory because His forgiveness, grace, and redemption is woven throughout my life.
I had an idyllic childhood with my amazing family, led by our Jesus-following parents. I’m the youngest of three children and both my brother and sister were believers before me.
I was confused in high school as I assumed that because I was moral (by my standards), I was probably a Christian. I believed in Jesus and knew what He did on the cross, but He was not the Lord of my life. I remember sitting outside late at night under the stars with my friend, Holly, checking in: “We’re both probably going to Heaven, right?” We based our conversation upon the fact that we went to church and believed what was taught there. We also didn’t party in high school. I was deceived into believing that made us saved.
I really had no excuse to believe these falsehoods because every member of my family lived out and verbally shared the gospel with me. But, I did not have ears to hear at that time.
I wanted to go into business like my dad until my best friend experienced some really difficult circumstances in her teenage years, ultimately leading to a failed suicide attempt. The only thing that helped eventually pull her out of the pit was the aid of a Christian counselor. I decided I wanted to pursue that career instead of business.
I headed off to college and my morals carried me through my first semester. Then things unraveled quickly, due to my poor choices and layers of sin upon sin. It started with curiosity. I doubted people could drink and not remember their actions the next day. I decided to find out by trying it myself. The Bible tells us there are “pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:25, KJV) and I found that to be true, but there is also truth in scripture that teaches this pleasure will eventually end in heartache. The result of this path is actually death and Hell. (See Proverbs 14:12-13, MSG). That’s the path I was on.
The first compromise of conscience began that first night when my curiosity led me to test alcohol with my friends. Over the next few years, it led to 6-7 nights a week of a party lifestyle, stewarding my body poorly, sinning against others, and being mistreated myself. I compromised to the point of becoming unrecognizable. A childhood church friend came to party with me one weekend and concluded, “You aren’t the sweet little Laura I remember.” That led to the first of two important prayers.
It was noon on a Saturday and pitch black in the windowless room of my college apartment. To me, the darkness during the day revealed the state of my heart. I prayed, “God, I know the difference between right and wrong right now, but I don’t care and that scares me. Could You give me my conscience back?”
God answered my prayer through a Crowne Financial Bible Study my dad invited me to. He gathered a group of my high school friends together one summer before our senior year of college. I participated, read the Bible, and started to feel conviction about my sin. My conscience was coming back! My idea for a next step was trying to act better and sin less, all in my own strength. I was really bad at it. I figured I would never be as good a Christian as all these other people, and I was shocked at how quickly I would go back to partying, even after a couple days in a row of “doing better.”
During this time I remember realizing I believed in Jesus and believed He died on the cross and rose again . . . but it occurred to me that Satan too knows this about Jesus, and he is not going to Heaven. I was bothered by that realization, but I tried to push it out of my mind.
The next significant prayer came when I was searching for graduate schools and couldn’t reach an agreement with my parents. I narrowed it down to Chicago or California, but they lacked peace for either destination. They just wanted their daughter safe and surrendered.
That semester, Mom bribed me to come to a women’s event at her church where I met a christian marriage and family therapist who was an amazing speaker! I approached her after her session and she told me about a private Christian graduate program in Atlanta, GA, that integrated psychology and theology. I was so impressed by her that I left intrigued to consider applying to the same program. I went home to pray, “Ok, Lord. I am going to put all my eggs in one basket. This is the only place I will apply, and if you get me in, I promise to be Yours before classes begin.”
I want to pause here and acknowledge I don’t recommend we make deals with God! I’m simply sharing my story. Even with my immature approach, God graciously continued to soften my heart and draw me ever closer to Him.
After my prayer, I was back to regular party life even when the acceptance letter for Richmont Graduate University arrived. It felt significant to open that envelope, but I still chose to put off my decision to fully surrender my life to Christ.
In August of 2007, my parents drove me down to my new home, a city where I didn’t know a soul. I would get to meet my roommate that Sunday evening, but on Sunday morning, Mom and Dad wanted to take me to church. Around noon, sitting in the pew, I started silently weeping, realizing I needed to hold up my end of the bargain! I whispered this prayer, “Jesus, I don’t know what this looks like, but I’m Yours.”
After service my parents and I got back into their (ironically named) conversion van in the parking deck. I crawled up between my parents, took their hands, hung my head, and began weeping. At this point, they feared I was nervous about this big move. I had no idea what the “right” words were for this moment or how to describe what was happening in my heart and my mind. I simply said “I think I’m ready to make that change.”
At that exact moment, there was a literal washing feeling …The Holy Spirit was cleansing me from head to toe, swapping out my heart of stone for a new heart of flesh. My desires changed instantaneously and I was filled with unspeakable joy! The three of us were crying and praising and praying . . . their prodigal finally returned home, repentant, and surrendered to Christ!
Later, scripture explained to me what was happening in that moment: Romans 10:9 says “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (NIV).
At 7 a.m. the next morning, classes began, and through an ice breaker, I partnered up with my new friend, Kim Coppedge. We had to tell each other one fact about ourselves and then announce each other’s fact to the class. I said, “This is Kim and she is scared of bees.” She said, “This is Laura and she was born again yesterday!”
My desire to party was gone. I called my boyfriend and gladly broke up with him. My next decision for the week was choosing a specialization. I was studying to be a marriage and family therapist, but it was optional to add a specialization from one of five categories: Coaching, Child & Adolescence, Christian Sex Therapy, Addictions, or Spirituality.
At this time, I didn’t know what discernment was, so when Christian Sex Therapy was jumping off the page at me, I was weirded out for being drawn to this option. I figured I should call the one person who would certainly talk me out of this . . .
My dad answered the phone. After I presented the options I knew he would recommend spirituality, of course. But there was a brief pause on the other end of the line, and then he said, “Honey, sex is a really important part of marriage, so if you want to help marriages, I would recommend christian sex therapy.” God let me borrow my dad’s discernment that day and God used that decision to redeem my past and usher in healing. Now I get to share that healing and encouragement with others through the many podcast episodes of The Savvy Sauce that discuss biblical sexuality. (See also One-Stop Shop for Marriage and Intimacy Resources)
This new path at Richmont was a three year schooling curriculum, but I strongly felt I should complete it in two years. The Dean of Students advised against it, but I just knew it was what I was supposed to do . . . I still didn’t have a definition or understanding of discernment and I was naive. It was the Holy Spirit leading me to make this choice. Now I see, Jesus was leading me, even though I didn’t credit it to Him at the time. I’m grateful He empowered me to follow Him, even as I was still learning how to recognize His voice. John 10:27 says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (NIV).
I had no idea in the moment why I was choosing to cram three years of graduate school into two, but God revealed the answer later, at the start of my final semester. Even though I didn’t know the “why” at first, it was helpful to know the “what.”
The next couple of years at Richmont Graduate University were full of favor. I delighted in my friendships, found a church home I loved, and I was baptized during that time. As I counseled married couples for my internship, it left me in no hurry to rush into marriage. Still, I desired to be married someday. I prayed I would be best friends with my husband first, he would ask me out before I was ready, and everyone would think it was too soon for us to get married . . . that prayer seemed a little weird, so I called my mom and shared it with her, asking her why she thought I was led to pray that? She laughed and said it sounded like the Lord was putting that on my heart.
Eventually I called Mom bawling that my favorite guy friend had asked me out and I was fearful it would ruin our friendship. She patiently reminded me of the prayer God led me to pray many months prior.
I did go out on a date with my best guy friend and it didn’t ruin our friendship . . . in fact, it enhanced it!
Remember when I questioned why God was leading me to graduate in two years? I wondered what was the purpose of this timing? It turns out my favorite guy friend who asked me out was Mark Dugger. He proposed in January of my final semester and we married after graduation, less than one year after that phone call with my mom. He remains my best friend to this day!!
I’ll share more about our love story next time, but overall his forgiveness and kindness and pursuit, both then and now, continue to be the closest manifestation of God’s love on earth I have ever experienced.
If I had to sum up my gratitude and lesson from Him, as it relates to my testimony of salvation, it would be with this verse:
Luke 7:47 “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven – for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little” (ESV).
I am grateful to have been forgiven of so much, and now Christ empowers me with the capacity to love much. May He continue to do this redeeming work in your heart and in mine. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen!
Thanks for allowing me to share.
Sincerely,
Laura
About The Savvy Sauce
Practical chats for intentional living
A faith-based podcast and resources to help you grow closer to Jesus and others. Expect encouragement, surprises, and hope here. Each episode offers lively interviews with fascinating guests such as therapists, authors, non-profit founders, and business leaders.
They share their best practices and savvy tips we can replicate to make our daily life and relationships more enjoyable!
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