Judy Richmond
Meet Judy Richmond.
God’s love had always eluded me. I grew up in a family where love was not expressed. This was further exacerbated by attending a church and affiliated school where acceptance and love were conditional and words were often harsh. In grade school, I dutifully memorized texts explaining that God is love, but not experiencing earthly love left a huge void and the inability to understand God’s love. For years, it was a foreign and impersonal concept.
However, thank goodness God doesn’t leave us where we are. Forty-eight years ago, He blessed me with my wonderful husband, Fred, who taught me about unconditional love. Also, I began a long search for a connection with God by listening to television preachers and reading devotionals. Even though growing up I never read the Bible, I began to read the Psalms which gave me much comfort and encouragement. We ultimately became members of a mainline denomination church, but surprisingly gained my understanding of the salvation message through television preachers. After I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior as a young adult, I still had a long road to understanding God’s love.
Joining Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) about ten years ago and Faith Bible Church a few years ago, enabled me to take a deep dive into God’s Word resulting in experiencing God’s love beyond what I could have imagined. In fact, in His mercy and grace, God allows me to see His love, not only in His Word, but in His amazing creation, a kind word expressed by a stranger, and our “family” in the Explorers adult community class at Faith, to name a few.
Additionally, in these familiar verses, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:4-6), God challenged me to look at love as much more than a warm, fuzzy feeling, but an intentional regard toward another proved by demonstrating these attitudes and actions.
Now, I thank God that I never have those doubts about His love for me. Even in difficult times, I know His love is deep and wide and that He’s controlling each and every aspect of my life for a greater purpose. And for that I say, “To Him be the glory…Amen!”
God’s love had always eluded me. I grew up in a family where love was not expressed. This was further exacerbated by attending a church and affiliated school where acceptance and love were conditional and words were often harsh. In grade school, I dutifully memorized texts explaining that God is love, but not experiencing earthly love left a huge void and the inability to understand God’s love. For years, it was a foreign and impersonal concept.
However, thank goodness God doesn’t leave us where we are. Forty-eight years ago, He blessed me with my wonderful husband, Fred, who taught me about unconditional love. Also, I began a long search for a connection with God by listening to television preachers and reading devotionals. Even though growing up I never read the Bible, I began to read the Psalms which gave me much comfort and encouragement. We ultimately became members of a mainline denomination church, but surprisingly gained my understanding of the salvation message through television preachers. After I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior as a young adult, I still had a long road to understanding God’s love.
Joining Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) about ten years ago and Faith Bible Church a few years ago, enabled me to take a deep dive into God’s Word resulting in experiencing God’s love beyond what I could have imagined. In fact, in His mercy and grace, God allows me to see His love, not only in His Word, but in His amazing creation, a kind word expressed by a stranger, and our “family” in the Explorers adult community class at Faith, to name a few.
Additionally, in these familiar verses, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:4-6), God challenged me to look at love as much more than a warm, fuzzy feeling, but an intentional regard toward another proved by demonstrating these attitudes and actions.
Now, I thank God that I never have those doubts about His love for me. Even in difficult times, I know His love is deep and wide and that He’s controlling each and every aspect of my life for a greater purpose. And for that I say, “To Him be the glory…Amen!”
Posted in Faces of Faith