Pastor Joe, as I will call him, was my first “discipler”. He was willing to meet with me weekly and discuss life. Sometimes we discussed simple things like budgeting. Sometimes we talked about hard things like trusting that God would pay the bills if I turned down work in order to attend all of the church services. We discussed the root of bitterness in my life. We talked about many other things, always taking Scripture and applying it to life in a practical way.

Twenty-one years is a long time to set down roots, establish patterns of behavior and thought, and develop habit patterns in relationships. A personality has been developed. There are many things which need to be changed. Change does take time. Even with the powerful Seed of Christ growing within you, the transformation does not happen overnight.

At 17 I was a senior in high school and found a church home in the town we were living. I accepted Jesus as Savior from the Word I heard through their youth group.

 

This was the Seed, Christ Jesus, planted in my life.

I was raised in poverty. I remember when I was young sitting with my grandmother looking at pictures. We came to one of my two sisters and me, and she stopped and sighed. I liked the picture and remembered it with fondness. She shook her head and sighed again. After a long pause, Nana said, “You all were so skinny. Your Papa and I were not sure you were getting enough to eat. We were so worried about you.”