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Hi, I am Tammy. My Christian Life continues to be in steps, some small and some big.
I grew up in a small south Georgia Baptist church, going to Sunday School, VBS, etc. I remember my mom teaching VBS and I remember making the macaroni necklaces and lots of Elmer’s Glue art. Life was simple. I accepted the Lord at 9 and was baptized at my "home" church. There wasn’t much of a change in my life at that time, because I was young and living in a small town. There wasn’t much to wash away! This was my first step as a Christian.
We moved around a lot from the time I was 9 until I was 14. Texas, back to south Georgia, NJ, back to south Georgia and then up to Marietta, when I was 14. Once we got here, we never found a church home and the only time we went to church was on Christmas and Easter. Yes, we were "those" kind of Christians! The change from a small south Georgia town to a metropolitan area like Atlanta made a big influence.
I went through High School without Church friends. Boy did I make a lot of mistakes! Bad choices, bad friends and I was heading down the wrong road. My mother and I didn’t get along. I was ready to run away from home, but something kept me from doing that. A friend of mine made the choices I was thinking about and I didn’t like what I saw. I realized my life wasn’t so bad. All I needed to do was start making different decisions. I didn’t like myself and decided to change my friends and concentrate on graduation and college. I started making better choices. I was still doing things to please people. I wanted to be liked, to be popular. Church still didn’t come into the picture. Something was still missing!
When I started College I was a different person from the one in High School. I was more mature, my mother and I were getting along better. I was working and going to school. I was independent. I met Hugh. We became good friends and started to date. I started going to church with him, since he and his parents went every Sunday. I joined the church and started getting active in the college and careers class with Hugh. We were married at that same church. I started getting more active in the Young Married class. We had good friends. I felt God working in my life for the first time. I started learning things about me and what God wanted me to do. I remembered how I felt when I was young and knew God had never left me, I was the one that left Him. This was the second step for me as a Christian.
We bought our first house and moved to another part of Marietta and had to stop going to our first church. We didn’t find a church home right away and it was easy to slip into that habit. We had friends in the neighborhood. We were active in the homeowners association. We were working and having fun. I felt like something was missing again.
When I had a miscarriage, I started thinking more about God. After Kalen was born, I knew I didn’t want my children to grow up without having a church home. We started visiting around and found a new church home. This time I really dove in got involved in VBS, Adult I Sunday school class, church clerk, youth SS teacher... Evan was born and he had many illnesses as a child. Having my church family gave me such great support to get through a time that God was letting me know He is in charge. All I had to do was have faith.
I never felt so close to God as I did at that church home and I knew without a doubt that God loved me. No matter what I had done or not done throughout my life. No matter what bad decisions I had made. No matter that I had been away from him for years at a time. He still loved and wanted me. Even me! This was a giant step for me!
Another move and another church home and I love this church family as much as my last! I have come so far from when I was baptized and want to keep growing and learning in the family of God. I find the older I get the more I thirst for the Lord. I am more bold now that I have found my path. I know there will be forks that may come up, but as long as I stay in "the light", it makes those choices much easier now. Those steps of faith continue to help me grow and I am in awe of God every day! |
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