Christy’s salvation story: a boat and a book

by Christy Reed

Until recently, I never considered my story to be miraculous or even exciting. I didn’t live a wanton lifestyle fraught with outward sins. I didn’t see a vision of Jesus. I wasn’t converted the moment I first heard the Good News. Rather, God met me where I was- not looking for him but not hiding from him either. In fact, I was completely unaware of God until he opened my eyes.

I was raised in a family that never mentioned faith, God, sin, or the need for redemption. My parents were not believers but also didn’t speak negatively toward faith when I was young. I was about as neutral as one could be-not really even knowing that faith in a god was something that some possessed. During my senior year of high school, a friend invited me to her youth group and then to church. Enjoying the music, games, and friendships kept me coming back, but still didn’t understand any part of the Gospel. God wasn’t worried, as always, He had a plan. 

That summer, my family and I spent three weeks on our sailboat on the eastern seaboard. I had a lot of time to read and began reading the Bible my friend had given to me. Knowing nothing of the Bible, I started at the very beginning, a very good place to start. God met me there on our boat. He taught me directly from His Word. He guided me in prayer. He illuminated my sin. He informed me of my desperate need for a savior and gently showed me his perfect plan of redemption. He did it all and I didn’t even know he was doing it. I returned from that trip ecstatic to share what I had discovered and was soon baptized, became involved in the church, and attended a Christian college.

The following years at Gordon College solidified my faith and brought me to a deeper understanding of the Truths that God had revealed in his Living Word. I met and married Rob in graduate school and when we moved back to the east coast, God directed us to an amazing small church plant that He knew would challenge, strengthen, and grow us through the first 15 years of our marriage. In his infinite wisdom, God has entrusted us with three children and there is nothing like mini mirrors running around your house to show you your need for Jesus. Despite my certainty that my own way is best, God has continued to bring me back to His perfect plan for my life. Ask me about our journey into homeschooling, our surprise adoption story, our crazy move to Minnesota, or life with a child on the autism spectrum to see how He has proven faithful through my own struggles and uncertainty. 

While preparing to tell my unexciting story to a small group a number of years ago, God pointed me to his miraculous work in my own life. He saved me out of a life of ambivalence and self-determination. It wasn’t that my life looked messed up from the outside but just the opposite. My parents never became Christians-my mom died in 2002 and my dad is now a hard-hearted atheist. The work the Lord has done in me demonstrates his love and mercy poured out as he sees fit. In Romans 9:18, Paul says “God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy and hardens whom he wants to harden.” God chose me. He had mercy on me, a sinner who didn’t even know he existed, and granted me life in his son, Jesus. That is nothing short of a miracle.

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Christy Reed

Christy is an intrepid homeschool mom of three, gorgeous arm-candy to Rob, and sprightly friend to anyone who will join her on this fantastic journey. She is always up for coffee, board games, and trips to the ocean!