I grew up in a Mennonite family in Michigan. There were no doubts or questions about God or the Bible. There were, however, just a few considerations on my part because I didn’t understand a lot of things in the Bible. Even so, my heart’s desire was to follow the Lord.
I never had to decide what college to go to. All my life I only wanted to go to one. Eastern Mennonite College was the place where I felt the Lord could prepare me to follow Him. During my freshman year I corresponded with my sister, Jean, in Columbus, Ohio. By the end of that school year, my family was going through several difficulties. This opened the door for Jean to invite me to visit her in Columbus during the summer.
Jean was meeting with the church in Columbus. Because of what she had written in her last letter to our mother, I went to Columbus with only one determination—to prove her wrong. The trip was by bus, so I had a long time to consider. I was going to go to every meeting and probably get into arguments with Jean. But at the end of the week, I’d show her!!
Well, I did go to every meeting. But Jean did not speak to me concerning the Lord or the church. (She told me later that she had told the Lord He would have to speak to me about those things). We talked about a lot of other things. On the Thursday of that week the Lord did start speaking to me, very strongly. He told me if I wanted to follow Him I needed to be among these people. Believe me, I argued! I wanted to go back to my college; everything was planned. For every argument I gave, He had an answer. Friday morning I asked Jean if I could move to Columbus.
The weekend in September I was going to be going back to college I moved to Columbus. That was in 1980. I met with the church in Columbus until I moved to California in 1996. During the years in Columbus, I went back to school twice. I received a BSN and an MS from Ohio State University. I’ve met with the church in Anaheim since moving to California.
Through the years I have received answers to the questions I had. Things in the Bible began to make sense. I experienced things “clicking” into place and seeing a clear view. I thank the Lord Jesus for the mercy He has shown toward me!
L.H.