Lauren

Lauren, with her acoustic guitar, has been a faithful member of the worship team on Sunday mornings at GRACE MB Church. Her sweet presence and childlike faith have endeared her to us all. She’s like a flower blossoming in the warmth of God’s love. “I really liked playing guitar in the services,” she said. Having graduated from High School recently, she will soon face new challenges and broader horizons; but she will always be lovingly remembered by the Church Family.

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Lauren and her older sister Jen grew up in the little town of Naramata, just north of Penticton. Their home was filled with love and happiness. Their mother ran a babysitting service, so the girls always had lots of playmates. Lauren was especially close with her cousin Heather, who also lived at Naramata at that time. The girls loved the out-of-doors, and Lauren remembers wonderful holidays at Jasper with their grandparents.

“We didn’t really have any exposure to [Sunday School or church] ,”said Lauren. “No one we knew was Christian. But I always believed there was a God, and never had a problem with accepting that He was real. I thought about things ... like, what if there isn’t a God? Or, if God loves us so much, why are all these things happening?”

One day, at her sister’s urging, Lauren began to attend Youth Group and the Saturday night services at GRACE MB Church. (Jen had been attending herself for some time, and had become a Christian at a Youth ENCOUNTER weekend retreat.)

“I was really shy at first;” said Lauren, “but Scott and Jo (Youth Leaders) were just great. I loved how passionate they were about God. They loved God so much, and were so loving towards me even though I didn’t do all this church stuff. I looked around... There were many people of my age. Wow! I thought, they’re giving up Saturday nights to go to church! They really WANT to go! Hmmm, am I missing something here?

“But it just started coming together; God started showing Himself to me. Like, just every once in a while I’d be singing a song, and I didn’t really know the words, but I just tried to learn the words, and a line would just jump out at me; and it would be SO powerful. Usually it was something really joyful – happy – and just so passionate. And I would think, WOW! That’s good stuff there!

Before too long Scott and Jo-Anne gave Lauren a Bible and she started reading the Gospel of John. “That was my favourite, ‘cause it just talked a lot about Jesus, and I really got to know what He was like.”

Then one evening – Feb. 26, 2000, to be exact – while Scott was driving Lauren home from a meeting, he turned to her and asked, “Do you have any questions?”

Lauren related the event. “I didn’t really know what to answer. I just said, ‘Well, how do I do it? How do I become a Christian?’ He said, ‘You just have to pray.’ And so he prayed first (I made sure that he didn’t close his eyes), and then I prayed. I asked Jesus into my life that night, while we were driving home from Saturday night service. I really felt I needed Him! I was talking to God – like, REALLY talking to Him for the first time.” When I lifted my head from that prayer, I felt so refreshed – so cleansed of everything that was on my mind, of everything I was carrying around. It was GONE!”

People noticed changes in Lauren almost immediately. They’d come up to her and say, “You’re so happy, Lauren!” Or, “I love it when you walk into the room, because you’re so cheerful and always smiling.” She herself noticed the difference Jesus had made in her life. “Not like I matured overnight, but I could feel that God was changing me, that there was a difference in my life. It was like a step up; because it was so much better than what it had been before.

“I started realizing that God was doing things for me ...One time my old group of friends were talking about the great party they were going to on Friday night There was going to be all sorts of alcohol and other substances. So I started praying; I just prayed so hard – every day – every chance I had. ‘God, keep them safe at this party; just do whatever You can to keep them safe.’ Then on Monday morning I asked, ‘How was the party?’ and they said, ‘Oh, it was cancelled.’ ‘What? Are you serious?’ I was dumbfounded! God was doing things for ME!! He’s answering MY prayers!! I had never felt the love that I felt with God.

“I kept a journal from the night that I became a Christian, and every second word is ‘amazing’ – God is SO AMAZING! I just watched like a wide-eyed child, as God took issue by issue for me. My problems didn’t go away, but I could deal with them now. I felt PEACE. I remember lying there in bed, asking questions, and getting the answers from the Bible – or I’d just get the answer from God. I thought, ‘God is doing all this for ME, and I felt special.”

Lauren began attending GRACE MB Church on Sunday mornings soon after that, and then, on August 12, 2001 she, together with several other young people, was baptized in the waters of Okanagan Lake - a public testimony of her new life in Jesus.

She loves singing SHOUT TO THE LORD, a favourite at Youth Group. A special Bible verse to her is 2 Corinthians 5:17: Those who become Christians become new persons; they are not the same anymore. For the old life has gone and new life has begun.

The future holds many exciting possibilities for Lauren. Perhaps she will become a teacher of History? or of the French language? She’s not sure yet. Whatever the case, as she keeps on “talking with God” He will keep on answering her, and guiding her in His perfect way.

July 2003

© 2003 SKM