Have you ever prayed for years for something and been almost on the verge of losing all hope, and then, wham! It happens! It has been that kind of year for me, and I thank God for his grace and generosity. I struggled so many years desiring marriage as well as desiring to fulfill the calling God had placed on my life in the area of ministry. I know many of you have this same desire and calling, and so I share the following with you to give you hope.
In October of 2007, I met a man named Mike at a local prayer meeting that I helped to organize with some friends from my church and community. We met specifically to pray for the ministry of OneByOne and other ministries such as Exodus International. Mike and I both were 39 years old, never married, and we were both almost at the point in our lives where we thought marriage had eluded us.
However, Mike had the courage to ask me to dinner where I brazenly asked him half way through the meal, “So, I just have one question. Is this a date?” With a smile on his face and a sigh he said, “I’m glad you asked that. Yes. This is a date.” Almost a year later, on November 7th, 2008 Mike and I married.
Six months later, in the spring of this year we were told by a specialist that the likelihood of conceiving naturally was very slim due to my age and some other complications. Mike and I cried, had a few tests done, continued to pray and ask God for a miracle, and then just left it in His hands. Unexpectedly, we conceived naturally three months later, and our little girl is due in April. Knowing how heart-wrenching it can be for couples who cannot conceive, we were so grateful to God for his generosity to us, of which we do not deserve!
During this same time, the ministry I directed, OneByOne, began to struggle as many other ministries have this past year. The idea of merging OBO with Exodus was an answer to the prayers we had prayed the year prior at the prayer meeting where Mike and I had met. It has been amazing to see how God has brought our ministries together.
I now have the privilege of working with the fantastic staff here at the Exodus office in Orlando. Our goal is to help educate and equip hundreds of churches around the country to minister to those with unwanted same-sex attraction and to those with gay-indentified children and friends. There are days when this feels like a truly formidable task, but God has proven to me that he specializes in impossible situations as we put our hope in Him.
I encourage you to never give up hope – to never stop praying for the desires of your heart – even when it seems like God may be saying no. One day when I felt like I was doing something wrong by asking him (again) to fulfill the same request, I felt the Lord asking me: “Kristin, do you think when all is said and done and you get to heaven that I will scold you for praying so much for that (no matter how I decided to answer your prayer?) Will I say disappointedly, ‘My dear, why did you have faith – why did you hope’?”
I didn’t need an answer to that question. The answer was obviously, “Of course not!” Whether God says “yes” or “no” to the things we ask of him, He will never leave us empty- handed. He will meet our deepest needs and our greatest desires. Isn’t this what Christmas is all about?
MORE:
What I Found Waiting For Me – Kristin’s Testimony
Press Release on merger of Exodus, Transforming Congregations and One By One
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