Sarah

I was born into a Christian home, but my family broke apart when I was only 5 years old. After my parents’ divorce, I didn’t have a good relationship with my father because he got mixed up in drugs and other worldly things. I was raised by a single mom who worked very hard to give me everything I needed. We attended church on and off but busyness began to run our lives. Seeing all that my mom had to go through, I decided that I couldn't rely on anyone but myself to be successful and happy. I began working towards being the best at everything and always put myself first. But I couldn’t help but constantly feel empty and unfulfilled. I tried going to church more but the good feeling from Sunday wore off by Tuesday. I tried meaningless relationships and being part of the “cool” crowd, but all it did was make me feel worse. I got lost in trying to make others see me as something I wasn’t.

During my senior year of High School, I knew I couldn’t afford college and desperately wanted to find where I belonged. So when approached by an Army Recruiter I jumped at the opportunity to travel the world and have a great job in surgery in the Reserves. After all my training was done, I applied to USF and got in! During my first few weeks at USF I got mixed up in the wrong crowd, but one day I was walking on campus with my friend and I was asked to fill out a survey about what I believed. It asked if I believed I’d go to heaven, and I wasn’t sure at the time but it did cause me to think about it seriously. Soon I began meeting for Bible studies with a campus minister at Cornerstone and even attended church with her.

After about a month, I understood what it meant to be a daughter of God through Christ. I saw that life outside of a relationship with Him would never satisfy me. So I dedicated my whole life to Jesus and surrendered all that I had planned for my life to His perfect will. I was baptized and became a member of Cornerstone! Now a year and a few months later I lead Bible studies as a student Bible study leader. I get to help girls just like me live a life free from worldly desires and pursuits that lead to emptiness. God continues to sanctify every area of my life. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life leading girls to God’s great grace and seeing Him change their lives like He did mine!

~Sarah