My Testimony

Can any of us predict exactly where we're headed? I don't believe we can. 

Why not? I believe that God has a bigger and better plan for our lives than we can ever have for ourselves. 

Why do I believe this? Well, let me tell you!

I was born into a family of musicians. We loved music, we played music, and all our friends played music too. All of our time was spent around music. I started violin when I was 3 years old. I worked very hard and became quite accomplished and my parents were very proud. 

As a child (6 or 7) I attended church with my grandma on occasion. I mainly enjoyed the experience because it meant spending the night at Grandmas house the night before, leading to some of the greatest nights and memories I can remember. Eventually, God faded out of my life because I didn't have time for Him in between all the music and school.

When I was in high school I had an experience that turned me farther from God. During the break of a orchestra rehearsal I was cornered (literally) by a fellow violinist who asked (harshly) if I knew where I would go if I died on the way home that day. This shocked me to the core. I was embarrassed and left speechless. How could someone be so blunt, so cold, and ask something so personal of me in a situation where I was helpless to defend myself? Thankfully I was saved by another of my close friends who was willing to have a strong conversation on the matter. However, that personal attack has always stuck with me because it was so forceful and impersonal. I didn't know her and she didn't know me. In that moment, this girl showed me a God who was not loving or real, and certainly nothing I was interested in.

The college audition/application process was very stressful for me. I wanted to go to a great music school and I wanted to be a star. Unfortunately the door was closed for all possible routes except for the University of Denver. Now, don't get me wrong, DU is a great school and I was blessed to attend, but it was far down my list of dream schools.

As my only real option, I entered my freshman year at DU with some reservation. I had no idea that God had planned for me to take a freshman seminar with two girls, who quickly became my best friends, who would, in a matter of weeks, lead me to Christ. It was this acceptance and friendship, in people I trusted, related to, and looked up to that lead me through the doors of the Evans Chapel on campus and into the realization that I needed more in my life. That night I saw people who had something I wanted. I felt an emptiness that I had not felt before, something more than homesickness, something powerful and deeply nestled. That night I cried through the whole service. The next week I accepted Christ as my savior. 

It was these friends and this great God that brought me to Providence Bible Church. It was here that I began my journey, learning more about Christ and myself. It was here that I met my future husband (though I didn't know it at the time) and would learn more than I ever had about who I am and what makes me tick. It was here that I confronted many demons, conquered many fears, and grew strong in myself. 

Over the next four years I would discover that music performance, though appealing and somewhat pleasing, was not what fulfilled me and that I enjoyed writing, being creative, and helping others. It was a hard choice, choosing a path that might not include music (the life I had known) but it felt so right, I had to explore. 

Going back to my proud musician parents, this was a hard conversation to have with them. It was even harder to pair that with the new that I wanted to spend this new journey with a man I had met at church, who supported my decision to move away from performance. It was hard to explain my plans to get married and work for a while instead of going directly into graduate school. It was not hard, however, to walk the path that God chose for me.

After getting married, we had a plan. We would both work for a while, after a couple years move to NYC to "live a litte", and then we'd come back to Denver and "settle down". I didn't know, however, that God would provide me a job as an office assistant for a instrumental music program for kids ages 9-18. I didn't know that this organization was moving a direction of big change and that God would want to use me in this change. I didn't know that Daniel would be so successful in his company. I didn't know that God would bring us to a new church, that we love, and who needs us. I wrestled a long time with the painful rubbing of my "perfect" plan to Gods plan, until I remembered where I had come. My plan has never been as good as Gods' and never will be. I don't wish to go back to the Katie I had pictured in high school. I am more fulfilled and more myself than I ever have been. I have to be okay to follow where-ever God leads us. 

So for now, we are here, living life where God has called us to be and we are choosing to be content and happy. 

This is a long way of explaining that if I know anything at all it is that God has a great and mighty plan for all of us and though we may enjoy planning the future, it is in the best interest to listen and obey His commands.