I was blessed to have been raised in a Christian home surrounded by a Christian extended family. As a child, the church we attended in Chester, PA, taught the gospel and offered Vacation Bible School (VBS) five weeks every summer. We memorized a Psalm and another passage of scripture every summer. I have many times thanked God for what I learned in VBS as a child because I still remember many of those passages to this day. But, for a while, I was deceived in my mind that I was perfect and didn’t need salvation. Thankfully God brought me to himself at the age of eight. For some reason, it really came home to me that I was not perfect, and I got on my knees in my bedroom and confessed my sin. I asked for his forgiveness and asked that he would save me. I still remember that moment as if it were yesterday. 

In the fall of 1966, I started college and studied to become a teacher at Bob Jones University. I started dating this guy, and after about six months, we started talking about marriage. Sadly, I didn’t know that he had recently divorced, which led me down a dark path that inevitably left me in a dark place. I didn’t know how to move on. I didn’t feel as if I could be forgiven, nor could I forgive myself. 

Eventually, I met another guy whose family had some sweet Christian members, and I started attending church again and enjoyed many wonderful Sundays with him and his extended family. What I didn’t see was that he was putting on an act. Sadly I married him and quickly learned he wasn’t being faithful in our marriage. Thankfully, God never left me! We moved to Lakeland, Florida, where I was invited to a Presbyterian Church by a teenager who helped me with my groceries. This church, its women’s ministry, and youth ministry gave me chances to serve others. I led a women’s small group and worked with youth ministry (where my son was active), where we’d often share the gospel on Florida’s beautiful beaches. Sadly, my husband never joined me in any of this, and his deception was an ever-growing life of unfaithfulness. 

After five years in Florida, God brought me back to the Carolinas, where I had to face a divorce, no job, and no home. God also knew that I had family here who could help. Fellowship Greenville had a divorce recovery group (DivorceCare) that helped see me through the changes that were happening in my life. In this group, I met the man that God had for me. My now-husband (Paul) and I have been married for 25 very wonderful years. This was not a journey I could have seen, but I am thankful Jesus prepared the way, taught me, and walked with me every step of the way. I can truly testify that God is good, nothing surprises him, and he loves his children despite their failures! I’m not proud of my story, but I’m blessed by my Savior’s love and forgiveness!