Brandi
I am a different person than I was three years ago – because of this, I thank God every day for how He used Wednesday nights to change my life. Although I grew up in organized religion and attended Catholic schooling, I had never experienced the intimacy of a relationship with Jesus. My parents believed in God, but after much pain in their lives, the acknowledgment of God being real was where it began and ended. For many years, I found myself identifying as a Christian but living for the world. I chased busyness, attention, and the desire to fit in with the world – not knowing I was meant to be set apart.
It wasn’t until a stranger at the gym invited me to Women’s Ministry at First Naples that I learned there is no one-foot-in, one-foot-out approach with Jesus.
A stranger’s invitation to join her Wednesday night table transformed everything. I met women who grounded themselves in the truth, who started their day in the word, and who focused on eternal victory. Seeing the joy the ladies had, even in their struggles, led me to yearn for the peace they had found in Christ. I started to crave morning prayer walks, ask tough questions about my identity, and allow convictions to change my actions.
The process of discipleship is world-changing.
While I still grow in my faith, that stranger and I now co-lead a women’s ministry table together, allowing me to partake in the call to make disciples. What a blessing!