Francie
Website: http://www.savetheperishing.com
Profile: I was raised in a Catholic family, but I didn’t hear the Gospel until I was 19. I was a sophomore in college, sitting by a fountain on campus, reading a book, when a young woman with long red hair approached me and asked if she could talk with me for a minute. I told her she could, and she sat down and walked me through a little booklet called the Four Spiritual Laws. With that booklet, Jill showed me my sin, my inability to go to heaven by my works and what God had done for me through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God had made a way for me to be reconciled to Him. It made sense, and I believed it was the truth. I learned that she was with Campus Crusade for Christ. She invited me to attend their Wednesday night meetings, and I went. I enjoyed the time there. I especially liked singing the songs. At one point, I stood up and gave my testimony. I even went on one of their weekend retreats. Still, I had maintained my old relationships with my college “partying” friends, and there was a growing internal conflict between my two groups of friends. I had to make a choice. I wasn’t willing to give up my sinful ways. I asked Jill to meet me for lunch, and I told her that I wouldn’t be attending any more Campus Crusade for Christ meetings. I spent the next eleven years living life my way. I suppressed the truth. I spent my free time “partying”. I embraced the philosophy that whatever you believed, that’s what would happen to you when you died. I married and had a son. The marriage never really took root, and I found myself six months pregnant and looking for an apartment with a toddler in tow. After a year of trying to make it as a single mother on my own, I eventually moved back to my hometown to be close to family and the support they could provide. I was miserable. I sought out my old high school “partying” friends and continued down the path of destruction. When I moved back to my hometown, I also found a good job. On the first day of work, a woman named Paula asked me if I wanted to go to lunch. While we were eating, Paula told me she was a Christian. Back at work over the next few months, I watched Paula. I watched how she did her work, how she interacted with others and how she handled stressful situations. She was unlike anyone I had ever met. She absolutely demonstrated her faith. She started a Bible study at work, and I went. We studied the Book of Acts. I started reading the Bible at home. One night as I was reading the Bible, it hit me all at once. I was a sinner who needed a savior. I found myself face down on the floor, crying out to God, admitting my sins and accepting the work that Jesus had done on the cross on my behalf. I don’t know that I realized for many days later what had taken place in that moment. In fact, I think I am still learning today what transpired on that day. That was the day of salvation for me. Since that day in May 1999, the Lord has been sanctifying this sinner. He has given me a new life. He has changed my desires. Instead of being in rebellion to Him, I want to please Him. Through every life circumstance since then, He has been molding me into the person He made me to be. All praise and honor to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
