Living Waters Fellowship

Jesus Christ has been apart of my life ever since the day I was born. He placed me in a Christian home, with loving parents and siblings. I was dedicated as a baby in a non-denominational church. I grew up going to church every Sunday. My parents wanted the best for all of us kids, but they knew that it was our own personal decision to make. As I grew older and started to truly understand how important it was to have Jesus Christ as my personal savior, I didn’t know if I was going to heaven or not. I didn’t want to doubt anymore. I wanted to make sure that I would spend eternity in heaven with the people I loved. In July of 2001, while sitting around a bonfire at a church camp, I accepted Christ as my personal Savior. I strived to keep Him a top priority in my life. I wanted to do the right things so that others would look at me and see Christ’s love through me. I wanted to follow the straight path that God had in store for me. I constantly look back at my life and have seen His hands at work many times and in many different ways.

In December 2003, a little 4 ½ year old boy, that was a dear friend to me, was diagnosed with a brain tumor (medulloblastoma). I questioned why God would allow such a young little boy to suffer such a traumatic illness. My questions continued when on February 25, 2004, my grandpa and grandma Sjaardema were in a very bad car accident. My grandma’s right side was crushed causing many bones to be broken. My grandpa, on the other hand, had previously had a stint put in and was bleeding internally. He spent a month in the intensive care unit, in a coma.

We spent many days and nights sitting in the hospital waiting room, and there were many times where we felt we were going to lose them both. On September 4, 2004, my grandpa Broadway passed away after suffering from two major brain aneurisms. August 12, 2006, my cousin Julie gave birth to a stillborn baby boy, Brycen Gregory. December 27, 2006, my grandma Sjaardema was diagnosed with breast cancer.

My immediate reaction was, “If God loves me so much; why did He allow all these things to happen?” I felt like God was tearing my life apart piece by piece. I kept thinking what was going to happen next. I felt like God was throwing bumps and curves into my lifelong path that at one point was straight. My relationship with Christ was feeling shattered.

Proverbs 3: 5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” At that moment in my life, I didn’t want to put my trust in the Lord. After everything that he had caused in my life, I wanted to turn my back on him and live my life on my own. But I realized that no matter how hard I tried to live my life on my own, I couldn’t. Psalm 23 says, “…He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” God was always there by my side. No matter how angry and frustrated I became with God, He still loved me.

I had many family members and friends that were there to love and comfort me through all these things, but for some reason knowing that God was there loving me and watching over me, it helped me move on with my life and put the past behind me. Those memories will always be in my mind, but God helped me realize that He had a bigger and better plan in store for my life, and those struggles weren’t going to bring me down.

Another verse, which has been a key verse in my life, was Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future,” Through this verse, I realized that everything happens according to God’s plan. We many not realize at the time why God makes us go through things, but in the end, He knows what is best.

My college years brought on many new challenges and temptations. I was moving away from home and starting a life on my own. I was in a new location and didn’t know anyone. I had difficulty finding friends and slowly fell into the peer pressure of partying and drinking. But that life was short lived. I had a void in my life that I was trying to fill with worldly things. I met Greg and Josh through the Bible study that they were doing on AIB’s campus. They invited me to come to church, and I instantly fell in love. I finally realized that the void I had been trying to fill needed to be filled with God.

I can’t say that my life is perfect, because it’s not. I still have bumps along the way. The little boy that was fighting cancer passed away only a short time ago. My best friend’s dad passed away a few months ago at the age of 52 due to major trauma to the brain caused by a tractor-automobile accident. Both these situations have been very difficult to deal with, but going to God in prayer and seeking God’s word has really helped me get through the toughest times in my life. I wake up each morning, not knowing what is in store, but I am thankful to know that God sent His only son to die on the cross for my sins.

When I look at my life in the past, to me it represents the “Footprints in the Sand” poem. Everyday, God has been watching over me and walking beside me down my lifelong path, and He is there to carry me through the times when I need Him the most. God puts things in our lives for a reason. He faces us with difficulties and challenges only to make us stronger. I am slowly realizing that because of the challenges I went through, my faith and relationship with God has only grown stronger. All those bumps and curves that he placed in my pathway were merely shortcuts to a better relationship with Him.