Northview Blog Stepping Stones to My Why: How I Came to Know Christ August 11, 2020 Testimony has always been such an intimidating word to me. In its most basic of Christian definitions, it’s why and how someone came to know and accept Christ. Yet, that word has always felt heavily symbolic, requiring recollection of a specific moment in time. I’ve never had a moment where I could pinpoint “Yes! Eureka! That’s when I turned my life to Christ.” I’ve struggled with a single “why.” Many situations in my life were stepping stones in my walk with Christ. Some were influenced by other people, while others were pivotal decisions I made, but all were truly God intended. Without any one of the stones in place, my path wouldn’t have led me to where I am today, and I’m better for each and every one of them. The path my mother was on before I was born caused her relationship with God to be strong, and she wanted to raise me to know Him too. For so long, my faith was an extension of my mother’s faith, but it didn’t feel fully my own as a child. Even still, having a believing mother was a major stepping stone in my walk toward Christ. Another stepping stone was when I made the decision to be baptized in fifth grade, which was in someone’s outdoor pool. Accepting and believing in God as a child gave me a good foundation to return to even after I strayed from Him in my teenage years. Fast forward a bit more in my life, my first heartbreak was another stepping stone. Within several days of the break-up, I sought out God more than I had in quite a while. God used what I originally looked at as being devastating as the valley I needed to go through to turn my life back to Him. A big stepping stone as an adult was when God saved our daughter by having her live with us full-time. We admittedly had initial fears about the impact of this change and still had some growing up of our own to do. One day during this uncertain time, my husband and I, as a couple, turned to God together for the first time ever. We prayed for His will to be done and His protection for our daughter. We truly laid our burdens on Him, and in turn, God was with us and blessed us immensely. To take some intimidation out of the word testimony, I just like to think of it as a story. Everyone has at least one of their own stories about how they came to know Christ. Our stories matter to God, and there is power in sharing His love with others. What’s your why? Footnotes: This post is the opinion of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Northview Church as a whole. by Heather Goble-Sorrells Spiritual Growth