Hannah: He saves daily

 I am so honored to be introducing this next special lady. Hannah (or Hannah Banana as I have always called her) and I go WAY back, like since birth practically. In fact growing up I always referred to her (and still do) as "my first best friend ever." I cant count the number of pics our parents have of us hanging out, playing dress up or just being toddlers together. Even though we haven't seen each other in over ten years (what!! hold the phone!), we still check in on each other time to time. Hannah lives in California with her hubby (they're newlyweds!!) Kent, and their new pup Harvey. Hannah is one of my most favorite writers, she is gifted and poetic and honest with each word and I know this story will resonate with so many young women. You can read more about Hannah and her sweet newlywed life at her blog www.wearehagens.wordpress.com Enjoy!

I used to think that my story wasn’t worth telling. Yes, I accepted Christ when I was 5 years old, kneeling by my bedside with my mom. Yes, I have followed him my whole life. I’ve loved growing up in church and some of my greatest friends have been from living in community there. I used to think that this was a boring story that no one would want to hear. There is no dramatic conversion, no180 degree turn in my life.  However, the Lord has made it abundantly clear that my story is important because he is the one who wrote it. He has a purpose for my testimony. He brought me to himself at age 5 for a reason. So this is my testimony, my story, continually being written beautifully by my Savior.
I’ve grown up in a Christian home my entire life. My parents have always been very involved in their church community. I remember asking my mom, one afternoon when I was five, if I could accept Jesus into my heart. She helped me pray beside my bed and it was there I asked Jesus for the first time to be my Savior.
I’ve asked him to save me many times since that day. In middle school I switched schools. I made a few friends there, but hated going. The campus was cold and uninviting and the teachers were mean to me. Halfway through the year the girls I considered my friends began to make fun of me for my faith. They made up rumors about me and kicked me out of their carpool. I felt so alone, so abandoned.  I stopped going to my youth group at church because I was afraid of being rejected. I even ate lunch in the bathroom a few times because I was embarrassed that I had no one to sit with. I remember begging the Lord to save me. I would do anything to be able to go to a different school. He heard my cry. After the year ended, my parents let me switch to a new school. I started going back to youth group and God redeemed me with new and meaningful friendships. Slowly my heart began to heal. He had heard my cry.
In July of 2012, my high school sweetheart, Kent, got down on one knee and asked me to be his forever. Nothing can describe my joy in that moment. I will never forget his sweet smile as he spoke and the lavender rose petals at our feet.

 Then two weeks later we found out his mom had stage four cancer. Three months later, a ravenous cancer took her life and left us reeling. I cried out to the Lord to save us from this grief, to turn back time and bring her back to us. His plan is still a mystery, but I know without a shadow of doubt that God was with us every second of that horrible sickness. His presence has never left us. Last July, I felt God’s strength and peace overwhelm our ceremony. Though Kent’s mom could not be there, we knew she was watching with a front row seat in heaven. I like to picture her holding Jesus’ hand, both watching proudly and joyfully as we said our “I dos.” As we continue to grieve such a painful loss, Christ continues to draw us to himself. He gives us indescribable joy and comforts our deepest sorrow.

I now know that my five-year-old heart understood something profound that afternoon as I knelt beside my bed: asking Jesus to be my Savior meant he would save me. Through every hurt, every tear, every lonely moment, he is with me. He answers my cry and in his presence I can find saving grace over and over and over…
So this is the story God has given me. This is the testimony of a girl who continues to need saving and of a God who promises to always be her Savior.