HelpaSisterOut: From Bad Habits to the Good Habit
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Jesus Christ has called me to become His bride, to live in union with God in Heaven on Earth! St.Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians, "An unmarried woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit." This calling brings my soul to life and brings me much joy. I know that through my yes, Jesus is going to change the world, but right now He is calling me to depend on Him in a radical way. I have faith that through you, His holy servants, He will take care of my student loans and give me the freedom to enter religious life with the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará!
I don't know God. I don't know why I exist. I don't know what real love is. I'm not happy. These are all thoughts that raddled around in my head on a daily basis growing up. The search to fill this void led me to isolation, deep sin, and ultimately bad habits that never allowed me to encounter the person of Jesus Christ.
I knew God existed, but I didn't know that I existed for Him. I didn't know you could have a relationship with Him...much less that He came down as a person to die so that I could have a shot at being with Him for eternity. I encountered this truth through a FOCUS bible study my freshman year at the University of Oklahoma that began a transformation in my life. Learning this truth put me at a fork in the road. I could either continue to live in the hook up/party culture that exists on the college campus, or I could leave it all behind, take up my cross, and follow Him. And, for a while, I tried to do both.
My junior year at the University of Oklahoma, I really turned away from the things that the world tells us will make us happy. I ran to true love instead. I ran to the chapel, the sacraments, and to authentic friendships that led me to see the goodness of the Lord. After four transformative years (and $75,000 in student debt), I graduated from college and went to serve the next few years of my life as a full time missionary with FOCUS.
Pope Saint John Paul II said, "Man cannot fully find himself, except through a sincere gift of himself." This has been true of my life these past four years as a missionary. Everyday I am challenged with new ways to give of my time, talents, and treasures to serve college students and be someone that draws people to Jesus Christ because of the way I live my life. As I have made myself a gift to others, I realize how small I am in the hands of God and that He loves holding me close to Himself. He is asking me to take the next step with Him and give up everything, literally everything, I have in this world to become His bride on Earth.
"Invited to leave everything to follow Christ, you, consecrated men and women, no longer define your life by family, by profession, or by earthly interests, and you choose the Lord as your only identifying mark. Thus you acquire a new family identity." -Pope Saint John Paul II
If you have any comments or questions, please reach out to me at [email redacted]
I don't know God. I don't know why I exist. I don't know what real love is. I'm not happy. These are all thoughts that raddled around in my head on a daily basis growing up. The search to fill this void led me to isolation, deep sin, and ultimately bad habits that never allowed me to encounter the person of Jesus Christ.
I knew God existed, but I didn't know that I existed for Him. I didn't know you could have a relationship with Him...much less that He came down as a person to die so that I could have a shot at being with Him for eternity. I encountered this truth through a FOCUS bible study my freshman year at the University of Oklahoma that began a transformation in my life. Learning this truth put me at a fork in the road. I could either continue to live in the hook up/party culture that exists on the college campus, or I could leave it all behind, take up my cross, and follow Him. And, for a while, I tried to do both.
My junior year at the University of Oklahoma, I really turned away from the things that the world tells us will make us happy. I ran to true love instead. I ran to the chapel, the sacraments, and to authentic friendships that led me to see the goodness of the Lord. After four transformative years (and $75,000 in student debt), I graduated from college and went to serve the next few years of my life as a full time missionary with FOCUS.
Pope Saint John Paul II said, "Man cannot fully find himself, except through a sincere gift of himself." This has been true of my life these past four years as a missionary. Everyday I am challenged with new ways to give of my time, talents, and treasures to serve college students and be someone that draws people to Jesus Christ because of the way I live my life. As I have made myself a gift to others, I realize how small I am in the hands of God and that He loves holding me close to Himself. He is asking me to take the next step with Him and give up everything, literally everything, I have in this world to become His bride on Earth.
"Invited to leave everything to follow Christ, you, consecrated men and women, no longer define your life by family, by profession, or by earthly interests, and you choose the Lord as your only identifying mark. Thus you acquire a new family identity." -Pope Saint John Paul II
If you have any comments or questions, please reach out to me at [email redacted]
Organizer
Amanda Graves
Organizer
Nacogdoches, TX