by Diane Eichten
I grew up attending church, having a sense of morality and reverence for God, but not grasping what His Son Jesus did on the cross for me. My life didn’t show much reverence for God with all the partying, bars, etc.
It was in my early adulthood that I learned that in order to go to heaven, I needed to invite Jesus into my heart and life, but I didn’t truly surrender to Him or put my faith in Him personally, so I kept on living in sin.
After we married, we attended church, but God was put on the back burner. As life went on, at times, I felt the need to give my life to the Lord. It wasn’t until years later that the Lord was working in my heart and also in the heart of a very caring friend/co-worker, Pat Hallstrom, to influence me to God. She would ask me questions and talk about the Lord. I would think to myself, “There she goes again, talking about God”. Well, bless her heart.
The Lord finally reached my heart through her! One day I was experiencing some terrible circumstances and anxiety. I finally gave my heart to the Lord telling Him that I couldn’t do this life on my own anymore – He needed to take over and at that time, His mercy and grace took over and He gave me an overwhelming sense of peace and relief. It was like blinders being lifted off my eyes. My heart changed radically – like He replaced all my old selfish desires with Himself and His desires.
I had a very strong desire to live for Him, pray, read His Word, and get to know Him more (I am a slow learner!) After that, I truly learned the truth of the gospel and God’s amazing love for me in my repentance and His forgiveness of my sin through His Son Jesus. I realized that all the sin in my life resulted in eternal death. But God provided a way out through Jesus, my Savior, to die on the cross for my sin, standing in my place, and rising to new life, so I could have new life in a personal relationship with Him through the Holy Spirit now working in me. His righteousness is in me, not my own! It’s such a blessing to know that Jesus is the free gift to me and my trust is in Him alone, not by my works, but His! I am still a sinner, but saved by His grace through faith. Praise God!
My passion for Him and His love for me, leads me to have a compassion and love for others. He is my true joy and true purpose in my life – to know Him more in His Word and become more like Him, to live for Him, and to tell others about Him and to give Him all the glory.
Of course I don’t live a perfect life as I am a work in progress and life is not without its struggles. But the Lord has rescued me so many times through them and from them. I tend to suffer much anxiety at times, but realize that when this happens I have to run to God and He leads me to the only place I can go – to Him and His Word. It’s like He tells me, “Go to My Word!”
I have learned through it that He will not only help me to endure in my trials, but to also bring me to praise and thank Him and to have His peace and joy because they will strengthen me and help me remember that His purpose prevails – for my good, the good of others, and for His glory. I like Psalm 119:71: “It is good for me to be afflicted that I might learn Your statutes”.
Shortly after I gave my life to Christ, this verse became one of my favorite (and it still is): Philippians 3:8 “Indeed, I count everything as loss compared to the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For His sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”
My husband Greg and I, both retired, enjoy spending time with our daughter Jerrica, her husband Jarrod and our granddaughter Avalyn, whenever we can in our “I don’t know where I found the time to work” lives. Greg and I together enjoy gardening, cooking (he spoils me!), walking trails, and volunteering. I also enjoy painting on river rock. I have been blessed by Calvary Church and I cherish time serving with the body of Christ and time studying God‘s Word with the women of Calvary.