I come from a large family and we were saved in the seventies. All of us were involved in church then and it was a marvellous time, but we did not get much teaching on God’s grace. A couple of my siblings and I served as short-term missionaries too. We love God but as time went on, we became unhappy.

Twenty-four years ago, my life fell apart. My husband did not want to be a Christian anymore and left me with my two girls, one aged three and the other, a mere eleven days old. I was devastated.

After my husband left, I began to think that maybe I was not doing enough. Also, as a single mother, I began to work and work, because all the responsibilities fell on me and the pressure was unrelenting.

Eventually, I became too exhausted and I began to doubt God. I wondered why after twenty-five years of working so hard, things just seemed to get worse. I lost my job. I became overweight, contracted diabetes and had arthritis. My strength was sapped. Despite that, I confessed more of God’s Word and I tried to read my Bible. Eventually, I told my mom that I might just convert to a religion that tells me exactly what to do because I wasn’t getting answers or seeing any breakthroughs.

It was at that time that my youngest brother introduced us to the teachings of grace. It was hard to accept at first because I thought it sounded dangerous as it was just way too simple. But as my sister and parents also began reading and watching messages on Jesus’ grace and finished work from different preachers, our family began to be transformed. I started feeling so free.

I had struggled my whole life to know that Jesus loves me. I knew I loved Him but I was never sure if He loved me. I had also been searching the Scriptures since I was twenty-one, trying to understand the meaning of the Sabbath rest and now, because of the revelation of Jesus, I am living in the Sabbath rest. I have so much peace.

My family is not the same. We are all on our journey with Jesus and He is changing us. My mom is freer than she’d ever been. One of my sisters who was estranged from her family for twelve years is now back with them and the family is growing closer every day. I have a new job I love and am believing Jesus for my healing. My son-in-law has just started a church and preaches grace every Sunday. The church has grown from eleven people in their living room to an average of forty every Sunday in a bigger space. And finally, we are debt free!

Even my daughters have been able to forgive their dad for leaving them. At my oldest daughter’s wedding, her father and her grandfather walked her down the aisle. Despite not having seen him for twenty-four years, she said if Jesus could forgive her without needing her to work for it, she could not deny her father forgiveness for what he had done, especially since he had been repentant. This is certainly God at work.

Thank you, Pastor Prince, for the message of grace. Our family has grown to include nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren, and we are all learning how to live in grace. All the praise belongs to Jesus! I almost feel like He is saying, “Finally, these tough Minnesotans have got it!”Thank you again. Keep preaching!