“…the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance…” (Romans 2:4b). Always remember to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit when prompted to give or show compassion to someone! You never know what God has in mind!

Read this testimony of God’s amazing grace in the life of one who was hurting and needed the love of a Heavenly Father. (This testimony was recently received at the RU office in Rockford, Illinois.)

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Hope for the Hurting: The Christmas Note

I realized that I need God’s help shortly after I became pregnant. I was living with the father of my baby and the whole situation was a depressing one. I was using drugs, smoking cigarettes all day, and felt alone and distant from everyone around me. My emotions stayed bottled inside, until the outbursts of anger that came out at any time and at everyone. While pregnant I gave up the drugs and smoking, but that left me with even more anxiety.  I cried myself to sleep every night. I was also the only one working, so we couldn’t afford bills and groceries.

One particular week, I was trying to figure out how we were going to get-by that week, and a co-worker came up to me and put $100 on my desk. At first, I refused it, but she told me that she felt God wanted me to have it. I was in awe.

At that point in my life, I had given up on God and pretty much considered myself an atheist.

But I was intrigued by the idea of God wanting me to have the money, and it was just the perfect amount to pay my upcoming electricity bill.

Then a few days later around Christmas time, I was walking into a grocery store. There was a young man passing out handwritten notes. He handed one to me and inside was a beautifully written presentation of the gospel story of Jesus’ birth. I was standing in the check-out line looking at the card when I got the sinking feeling I was not going to have enough money to pay for all my things. Sure enough, I had to put some items aside, paid for the rest, and left. As I was walking out, the young couple that had been behind me in line, caught up with me and handed me the items I had put aside. They had actually paid for these things for me! That’s when I knew that God was reaching out to me, and I decided then that I would begin going back to church.

I was going to every church service without my boyfriend. I gave birth to my daughter, I could no longer ignore the conviction about my baby’s future. I realized that if I were to give my daughter a healthy upbringing and strengthen my relationship with God, I would have to leave the current situation. I looked to God’s Word for guidance and received it in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” I knew right then and there that I needed to focus entirely on the Lord, and He would take care of everything else. And He did! He truly became my Savior!

With that commitment to God, He led me to the RU program, and I have learned how to lean on Him and deepen the bond with Him. God has proven to me that He does what He says He will do … and far beyond my expectations!