Reach • Devotion 4

Testimony | Courtney Sanders

I come from a long line of Christians on both sides of my family and have many close family members who are pastors and who are very active in their church communities, so growing up in a Christian home was very normal and expected. I was the first kid to Sunday School every week, learned all of my “memory verses,” sung in all the church productions, and attended youth group, leading worship almost every week as a high schooler.

I accepted Christ into my heart when I was very young because it was something I was taught to strive for and was excited to do! However, I chose to recommit my life to Him through the proclamation of baptism when I was in college when I had more of a grasp on what it meant to commit myself fully to the Lord and His will for my life. My relationship with the Lord really became personal while attending Spring Arbor University, as I was able to step into leadership opportunities and be mentored by wise faculty and staff at SAU who taught me to approach anything from my schoolwork to my crippling anxiety, to my post-graduation job search, from a faith-driven perspective.
 
Now as a wife, mother of two, and an overall chronically anxious person in the midst of a demanding schedule and chaotic world, it is hard to find small moments for me to come quietly before the Lord. I find myself craving more time with Him and His Word, knowing both are ultimately how I can get through each day with strength, peace, and being able to point my children to Jesus. Being centered in communion with the Father will forever be my goal and even on the days that I fall short (which happen often), knowing His grace is sufficient makes it possible to rest in His love and goodness. His mercies are new every morning, I can try again tomorrow, and He loves me all the same. Praise the Lord for that!

In 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV), we read, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”