Nicole Jones

Growing up, I believed in God, but I didn’t have a relationship with Him. I grew up Catholic and even though I had that religious label, we didn’t really go to church that often. It wasn’t a priority in my life. My parents raised me to have good morals, but I didn’t know what a relationship with God actually looked like. I understood and believed that he was supposed to be kind, good, and loving but I just kind of thought of Him as there. When I was 15, my mom was diagnosed with cancer and when she got sick, it was kind of my “God, I need you” moment. I watched my mom battle this horrible disease for 7 months until she lost that battle. At this point in my life, I was just so angry about all of it. Why was this happening? How could a God that’s supposed to be so good do this? My mom was a good person. She loved and cared for people well, she was always doing things for others, opening our home to mine and my brother’s friends, all sorts of things. So I was angry; angry at God, angry at those around me, angry at everything. This continued for the whole next year, as I couldn’t get past my anger and was harsh to everyone. 

When it came time to choose a college, I originally chose one that would keep me close to my dad and step-mom in Indiana. However, through whirlwind of events, I changed my mind at the last minute and wound up at Lee University. Admittedly, the chief reason I chose Lee was because it was far away from home and all the “bad” memories I had there - six hours and nineteen minutes to be exact. Little did I know that my attempt to run away from everything, was actually my first step in running towards a pursuant relationship with God. During my freshman year, I learned more and more about what a real relationship with God looks like. Through different people, religion classes, and church, I started to read the Word and figure out what I believe for myself. In the second semester of my freshman year, I came to this “ah-ha” moment of this is what a life completely surrendered to Christ looks like. I made the decision to give my heart to the Lord and to trust in him every step of the way. It hasn’t always been easy and there are still struggles in life; the difference now, is that I trust God has a plan for my life. I’ve seen the things the Lord can do and I believe in that and want to continue to tell people about each new experience I have with Him through the little things he teaches me every day.