I'm Grateful

In the eight months that Christian and I dated there were many changes and new experiences. I could spend a lot of time writing about the many 'adventures' Christian and I went on during those eight months. Mostly, this particular time was a time for healing. I knew I couldn't do anything about getting my kids back. I wasn't about to drag them into parental wars. I couldn't do that to them. I knew that they were being somewhat taken care of. My kids did move away from Convert as soon it became legal for them to do so. (I will write about them more later.)
I got to know Christian's relatives while I learned how to live on practically nothing. I learned how to appreciate God's creations around me. I learned how to fish, how to hunt, and how to utilize natural plants that grew on Christian's land. I tasted wild morel mushrooms for the first time, and made wild raspberry jam and wild blackberry jam for the first time. I learned how to identify different species of trees, plants, birds, and how to identify the different paw and hoof prints in the ground. The world around me was new and exciting. (God has given His children so much, if we would just be still and know that God is providing for our needs.) The most uplifting experience was that God provided me with so much spiritual growth, without the gain of material possession.
I quit smoking all at once. I went from two and a half packs of menthol cigarettes a day, to nothing. I owe it all to God. Jesus helped and is the only one who could help me stop depending on cancer sticks. I have not picked one up since I stopped. I started to get some exercise. Christian bought me some running shoes and I tried to 'jog' on a running track. I got one quarter of the way around the track on my first try. Afterwards, I was totally out of breath. I kept up my routine exercises with Christian. It was a matter of months that I was able to get one mile around the track. The bonus of all that exercise was that I lost seventy pounds within a year and a half. My diet drastically changed as well.
It was June of 1996 that I gave my life to Jesus and asked him to come into my heart and take over. I never knew that Jesus could give me the peace in my heart that I needed without requiring a priesthood holder and permission from those 'in authority'. There I was, with practically nothing, but Jesus stretched out His arms and accepted me. I was a wretched mess, but Jesus, through His grace, took me in with no conditions. God used Christian to show me what I needed in my life. For that I'm grateful.