behind by two daddies, but at that point the hole in my heart was larger than ever. The edges were sore again, the whispers of the past calling out as if they were being read over a loudspeaker. My newfound best friend and the campus minister constantly reminded me that God was there. Although I didn’t know why such a powerful being would care so much for someone as seemingly worthless as me, I nodded and tried to understand. As a kid, I


attended church off and on with friends and consistently with my family for about two years in middle school. I knew God loved me, and I knew I believed in Him. In fact, I had received salvation as a little girl. I was a Christian, but my life didn’t reflect it at all. To be quite honest, I really had no idea how to exude a Christian life worthy of the sacrifices Christ made for us as He shed His blood on the cross. I could recite John 3:16 without any hesitation, but the rest of the Bible seemed completely foreign. The entire spring semester I kept asking questions to anyone who would listen, trying to figure out the mystery surrounding God, Jesus, and the


22


Holy Spirit. Overwhelmed with questions, I kept coming up short with answers, or so it seemed. While home for spring break, I visited


a local church with my sister. It was very similar to my favorite church growing up so I instantly felt connected. Then once I came home for the summer, I was attending the same church on a regular basis. Within the first few weeks, I began to focus on God and realized that I had let my relationship with a boy block my relationship with


the


Almighty. When that relationship c omp l e t e l y ended, I was crushed, but I felt God’s embrace w r a p p i n g around me like Dad used to hold me when I was still his little girl. For the first time there was calm, and I was left without feeling that the hole in my core had been torn completely open again. I knew I


could and would get through the pain. I just had to take it one day at a time, looking to my Father in Heaven for the strength to overcome the hurt each and every day. On July 10, 2011, just a few days


after returning from a week of soaking in God’s masterpiece of the beautiful Rocky


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