During all the drama of my first marriage, I can still remember the times when the Spirit of God had wooed me.  He never left me, even in the midst of my rebellion.  There were times I would be high on drugs, and I could feel the Holy Spirit hovering over me, protecting me and shielding me from the agenda of the enemy – to steel, kill and destroy my life.  That may fly in the face of some religious thought out there, but it was true never-the-less.

Through His mercy, kindness and long-suffering, the Lord drew me back to Himself.  Though I had known Him as a child, I had not lived for Him in a very long time.  So when I committed to Him again in my late twenties, it was almost as if I had no idea how to live this new life.  I didn’t know how to be ‘religious’ and didn’t like ‘churchy’ things or people.  Yet all things were new and nothing of the past held any draw for me anymore.  Now divorced with a very checkered past, I knew only that my life was redeemed, and that was more than enough!

But what exactly did the future look like for me?  I had no idea.  I didn’t know if I would live alone the rest of my life, which I was willing to do, or if I would have another chance to live my life with a husband.  I only knew that whatever was in store, I would spend the rest of my life loving and serving the Lord Who had redeemed my life from sure destruction.  I knew that in Him, I had hope where I once had none.

I knew I had much to learn in this new life that I now lived for Jesus, and I knew I had just as much to un-learn.  The Lord had turned my life and my mind around!  Where to start?  I needed teaching and I needed mentoring.  So, for the next 10 years, I joined a group called “Master’s Commission” at Phoenix First Assembly of God under the leadership of Pastor Lloyd Zeigler and his wife, Christine.  Through this humble man and others at Phoenix First, I began to see and understand the character of a truly Godly man – the kind of man I would meet and marry many years later.