V:
It's taken me a long time to be able to put this into words but I'm going to do my best.
Growing up I had a knowledge of God, or higher power. I had no idea who he was or what he was about but I prayed to him every night, reciting the prayers my dad had taught me over the years. As most kids do, I would pray aimlessly and without any thought to whom or why I was praying. This went on until my senior year of college where everything changed...
It was fall of 2006, my second to last semester and Chase's last semester at USD. By this time we had known each other 2 years and had become pretty close friends due to a semester long group project we had together. One night after taking our group quiz at Chase's place he asked if he could tell me something that might 'weird me out a little bit'. At this point, Chase and I were still just friends and I had a good idea of where he stood in his faith, but again, I had no real concept of what that really meant. He told me he had prayed for me one night and asked God 'why I didn't know Him yet, why I wasn't saved?'. God's reply was that He had been protecting me my whole life and He had me exactly where He wanted me... He told Chase not to worry but to have faith. For those of you who know my story and my family history well, you will understand why these words brought me to my knees. I saw my life as a little 4 year old girl through that exact moment in Chase's house and I knew without a doubt I had been protected .... I had been untouched by so many evil things that deeply hurt the loved ones around me. These things destroyed a marriage, a household, childhoods, identities, self worth and have left scars so deep and so painful that it seems they're almost impossible to heal. While those closest to me suffered severely, I got a chance to grow up without the struggle of trying to heal from those traumatic experiences.... and glory to God for that chance! My life is forever and eternally changed because God gave Chase the courage and strength to tell me what he'd heard, tell me of God's love, grace and mercy and to show me what it meant to live a life with Christ...
