I grew up in a Christian home with a mother that was a homemaker, and a father that was a businessman and a preacher in the Sommerfeld Church. At the age of 16, I was baptized upon the confession of my faith that Jesus Christ, died on the cross and rose again taking my sins upon himself so that I could have eternal life. I was married at 18 and we started our family six months after that. The first number of years of our married life were difficult, mostly because of my pride. Over time God showed me exactly how my pride impacted my walk with him and our family. At the time I couldn’t see it and I had to walk through a lot of difficult times before I learned that the problem was my pride and that I needed to deal with it. It wasn’t easy to admit and even more difficult to change. Through my entire life, God has blessed me with many things, including friends, family, finances, and so much more. There was a time when I thought everything was going great and I was doing what I thought God wanted me to do. When suddenly everything comes to a stop and life changes drastically. I was confronted with choices that I was not equipped to make and realize that it was pride and wanting to rely on your own abilities that had brought me to this. Through all of this, I never doubted that God loved me and wanted what was best for me. It just took me some time to realize and fully trust and follow his will. I have never stopped trying to seek God‘s will, and grow closer to him, and through all of the challenges I have experienced, I continually see his great love for me and that sometimes it can hurt and be very difficult to mature in your faith. I do not know why our son and our oldest granddaughter had to die in 2022, but I firmly believe that God does not make mistakes and that he will reveal all the answers when we meet again. God loved me before I was born and I wish to serve him until he takes me home. A few verses that put this in perspective for me are: 1 Jn 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world. 1 Jn 2:17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.