Life as I knew it was about to change as I left for summer camp when I was ten years old. I knew that my dad had become very sick over the past three months. I even heard talk about death, but as a child it did not sink in. I did not know about death, but I did know that when you died, you went to Heaven or hell. My parents believed that Jesus Christ was the only way to Heaven. One night at camp, the speaker told us that Jesus loves us and wants us to live eternally with Him. Each of us would need to know Him personally to be able to do that. It was that night that I realized that it was my own personal decision; not my parent wishes for me.

There was no instant terrific change in the way I felt, but God knew what was ahead. The next day, two men came to take my sister and I home. They told us that my dad died during the night. God's perfect timing is amazing to me. My mother was 28 years old and had four small children when dad died. She moved us across country away from everything and everybody we knew. Life was difficult, but we attended a small church where wonderful people showed us God's love in every way.

Then my mother got into a bad marriage that made my teenage years extremely hard, but God promises He will never leave us or forsake us. He became my everything. I still do not understand how anyone goes through life without fully knowing and trusting in the fact that God is the one in full control.

We were uprooted and moved again, but God and His wonderful people are everywhere. I have experienced God's love through so many people who have influenced my life, and I thank God for every one of them.

At age 19, 1 married Brian. Life was good again. God has blessed us with four great kids who have also made Christ their personal Savior. I have so much to be thankful for. The years have brought many blessings and along with them, some challenges. Our son faced a life-threatening heart condition at age 15, and my husband Brian is battling cancer. Cancer is what took my dad's life. 11 Corinthians 5:7 says we live by faith and not by sight. I can't see what tomorrow will bring; only God knows that, just as He knew when I was ten years old how much I would need Him that very night He brought me to Himself. Just as my dad died with such peace, talking about spending eternity with Jesus, I too have peace, knowing that when I die, I will first see Jesus, then my dad. I am thankful that those special people that God has put in my life: my mom, brothers, and sisters, and my husband and children, will all be in Heaven with our Savior for eternity.

Philippians 1:21, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain."

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