Hi friends! On today’s episode of Draw Near to Me, we will begin part 1 of Judy’s faith journey. I met Judy years ago in a Bible class that I was taking at church. It was so evident that she had so much wisdom and knowledge. Not only is she an incredible role model and a godly woman, Judy is like family to us. She and her husband have welcomed us into their lives, keep a seat open for us at holiday meals, and have walked through both joyous and sad occasions with us. I’m honestly so grateful that we have somehow snuck into their hearts. We absolutely love them both. I also have the pleasure of volunteering where Judy works. It is wonderful to see how she is the same person I know in that realm as well. Loving and kind while moving things forward in what seems to be a seamless way. It is an honor and pleasure to share a small part of her story and to learn about how God has moved through different parts of her life. If you enjoy this post, please like it and share it with others using the share button below. With that, let’s dive into Judy’s story. Enjoy!
There is a book that I love. It is called A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, by Eugene Peterson. The book often reminds me of the blessing that is received from knowing God for a long time. Since 1964, I have been walking with the Lord. I have not done it perfectly, but I never really rejected Him or walked away. Being with God for over 50 years has made a huge difference in my life. Over that time, God produced in me a knowledge that I was not going to be shaken by circumstances because I always had Him.
Going back, I want to share a little bit about a life that God has blessed almost from the start. It’s not a life that felt like it had a tremendous amount of trial and tribulation. That was only because it was set upon God’s faithfulness. Of course, there have been some hardships through the years, but from the very beginning I’ve known God’s love for me. That early realization blessed my life and made it more palatable when things would go wrong.
My earliest memories were of growing up in Dallas, TX. I had a wonderful family with two sisters and parents who loved and supported us in everything we did. I was one of those little girls who pushed my way ahead and tried many, many new things. Although I would say I grew up in a Christian home, it wasn’t a place where we talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ very clearly.
When I was 16, I had some friends that were involved in Young Life. It was through them, and not the church, that I heard an important message. I needed a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I needed to reach out to God and ask Him to forgive my sins.
At that point, I believed that I was Christian because I was a good girl, I went to church, and I loved Jesus. Naturally, I was a bit offended when this one boy, and some of my friends in Young Life, told me that I was not a Christian. I thought, “I go to church more than any of you. I sing in the choir. I go to my youth group. I’m obviously far more connected with the Lord than you are.”
Even though I was so insulted by his comments, I was also boy crazy at the time. So, when the same boy asked me to go to the fall dance, I agreed because he was so cute. The night of the dance, we went to a friend’s home afterward. My date and I sat out on the porch, and he explained to me that it was not whether I was good or bad, we all needed the forgiveness of Jesus Christ for our sins. He asked me if I would like to pray and ask Jesus into my heart and life as my Lord and Savior. That was how at age 16, I made that declaration.
I then began a wonderful journey of being discipled. God placed me where I was immediately mentored by great Young Life leaders. After high school, I went to college at Southern Methodist University (SMU). I became very involved in Campus Crusade for Christ. I was passionate about witnessing to others anywhere and everywhere I could. I witnessed on the beaches in California. I witnessed to everything that moved. I would witness to a tree if I ever had to. I became a leader in Young Life at a local high school and began discipling young women and leading Bible studies. It was an amazing time.
During the years I went to college, things were really changing for women. My dad, who was a very brilliant man and role model, was an engineer. I wanted to follow in his footsteps and decided to pursue that major. I received a full engineering scholarship to go to SMU. There were very few women in that field, so I was in college classes with hundreds of guys. I loved engineering and did two years of that curriculum. However, by the 3rd year, we were given projects that made me realize there was a specific gift for engineering. Although I could do the math and science, I didn’t have that gift of figuring things out. My dad did, and two of my sons do, but I just did not. So, I switched to a degree in mathematics.
While I was in college, I continued to date the boy that led me to Christ when I was 16 years old. He also went to SMU. We were together off and on through the first few years of college. Although it was a stormy relationship, we still got engaged. Every time we got closer to thinking about getting married, we began to see all these problems. Each time that made us pause.
Now, during that time there was still sin in my life. I was following the Lord in every respect, except in terms of my sexual life. This was way back in the 1960s, so I was not actually having sex. However, I was getting more physically involved than I should have. I knew it was wrong, but somehow that was a sin I tolerated in my life. Eventually, God convicted me of it enough that I knew I needed to change. I pushed away from my boy craziness and focused much more on Him.
By my junior year of college, my fiancé and I realized it was not going to work for us to get married. I really think it was the Holy Spirit saying, “Wait a minute. This is a wonderful person, but he’s not the right one for you.” We finally broke it off.
I wanted to get out of SMU and go somewhere else to school. I no longer had my engineering scholarship since I switched majors, and my dad was supportive of me going elsewhere. People from Texas always loved Colorado. That was where we would go to the mountains and go skiing. So, I transferred from SMU to Colorado State University (CSU).
After I made the decision to go to Colorado State, I discovered that a friend from high school went there. God reconnected me with him. He was a strong Christian. In the fall, he drove me up to CSU and helped me get settled. Within a few months we started seeing a lot more of each other and then fell in love. We got married at Christmas during our senior year.
After college, we headed back to Texas where my husband attended Dallas Theological Seminary. They did not have degrees for women at the time, but they did have some classes that I attended. It was a wonderful time of us going back to where we had been. I went to work for Southwestern Bell telephone company as a supervisor in the computer department. However, when I went out on maternity leave, I never really went back to work until our youngest son was in middle school.
I had the great privilege of being a stay-at-home mom. I volunteered for everything in the boys’ lives at their schools. My husband became a pastor and was super involved in the church. He led Bible studies, Vacation Bible Schools, and other such things.
Early on we moved back and forth between Florida and Texas before finally settling in Florida. My husband was involved in an evangelistic ministry. I was a pastor’s wife for 25 years. We were very comfortable sharing the gospel and saw many people come to Christ. Though we lived very modestly, God provided for all our needs.
God showed His care and provision in numerous ways. Even though we all will experience trials and tribulations, He is with us and walks with us every step of the way. I’ve seen it many times in my life, but one incident that stood out was an experience that I had with my 3 boys. It was an encounter with an angel.
To be continued.
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