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FREE YOUR MIND!

My Journey to Life Fulfillment and Freedom

By Michelle Bollom, Hope 4 Moms Co-founder

“With God all things are possible” Matthew 19:26

I have always believed in God and have classified myself as a Christian. I was baptized at age eight and for the most part, raised in a religious family. I have always prayed, but really did not know how to pray.

My prayers were mainly selfish, begging and pleading-type prayers when troubles arose. I would have seasons where I would be closer to God spiritually, and other times, farther away. In 2006, the sudden death of my brother rocked my foundation. Instead of embracing God and turning toward him, I drifted further away, but farther than I had ever let myself go before. I was flat out mad at God! I wasn’t ashamed to say it, either. He knew how I was feeling anyway whether I said it out loud or not.

At this time, I had just begun a new venture as a stay-at-home mommy. My children were in school all day so it this period became a much needed break from the high stress career I had for close to ten years. My health was failing; I was on so many prescription drugs for anxiety, depression, cholesterol, hormone replacement therapy, ulcers and acid reflux, the list went on and on. I was a smoker and overweight. The list of health problems kept piling up and the stresses just kept mounting. I can not even recall most of 2006. It was so full of stress and grief that drove me deeper and deeper into depression and farther and farther away from God. To make matters worse, my father was very ill and we almost lost him around the same time I was still grieving the loss of my brother. I was still mad at God and thought “OK, how much more can I take?”

Desperate one night at 3 a.m. while flipping television channels, I made a decision right then and there it was time to start over, to start anew. I was going to become born again! I prayed the prayer of salvation with a pastor named Greg Laurie from Riverside, CA, whose program was on television at that early hour. I made a decision to turn my life over to God because I just could not do it anymore on my own.

Soon after, I noticed that a friend of mine was reading the book, “A Purpose Driven Life,” by author Rick Warren, while our kids played at our neighborhood park. I had heard of the book, but had no idea what it was about. She suggested that I join her group that I thought was a book club. I had not read one page yet, so after purchasing the book and opening it to prepare for the first meeting, I was a little shocked to find out that it was Christian based. Reading Christian books was new to me.

What ended up happening was truly divine. As the weeks grew into months and this group of five women journeyed together while reading and studying the messages in the book, I finally understood why my friend kept saying the “book club” was a “Bible Study.” We were a group of five fabulous women all sharing how each chapter and word transformed our lives. God was working in each of us, and it was so neat to experience this with others as a group, and as individuals. God was using this experience to transform my life and get me healthy spiritually and emotionally again.

I consider this Bible Study to be the beginning of my new “God” journey. I soon became a like a sponge soaking up all sorts of teachings from various pastors during my quiet times. I also found a new church home in a non denominational Bible church, and started reading the Bible daily and learning God’s Word. I thought I knew about the Bible teachings and God before, but I found out I did not know very much at all.

God’s Word is so powerful! He helped me completely transform my life from having “religion” to having a “relationship.” I look forward to my mornings with God. I never get tired of His Word. My life is so much better with God being first place. I am no longer a smoker. I do not take any prescription medicines except one for cholesterol. I am continuing my journey to become stronger physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

God has taken away the depression, the addiction, the hurt, pain, anxiety, sadness, grief, anger, bitterness, selfishness, and resentment. He’s truly given me peace, love, a heart for giving and serving, wonderful new friendships with strong Christian women, and the list could go on and on with each blessing my life has received from God.

God has made me a better person. I may not be where I need to be, but Thank God I am not where I was!

Contact Michelle: Let the power of prayer transform your life. Contact Michelle Bollom, HM staff member, for your prayer needs. Whether you’re needing prayers for a special intention, or you would like scriptures and other references to help you pray, Michelle is available. An example is her “PrayerScripts!” (e.g. printable MicroSoft Word documents with simple prayers and scriptures to assist you in your prayers) that are available upon request. Please contact Michelle at HoustonMom@sbcglobal.net for more information.