Diane Atkins

When I was six, my mother fled my abusive, alcoholic father to find safety for herself and her four children at my grandmother’s home in Kansas. After six months, my father unexpectedly showed up. Of course, we children were happy to see him, but my mother was terrified. How could she ever trust a man who had been so cruel to her? He promised that he had changed and that life would be different.

Soon after, we moved to another town, which was the sixth move in my seven years of life. In no time, my father was drinking again. It was a frightening time, but God led my mother to a Nazarene church. Thankfully, my dad had never forbidden us to attend church. My mother had received Christ as a teenager and had trusted God through all the terrible years of abuse. At this Bible-preaching church, she came to know God in an even deeper relationship. What joy filled her heart! She often said that she may have never grown so close to God if she had not gone through the suffering and the many moves.

We were at this church less than a year, but oh what blessings God bestowed on us. He provided a compassionate pastor and his loving wife to encourage and disciple my mom. He provided loving Bible teachers and caring friends who taught God’s Word and made us feel welcome.

It was during a children’s Bible study that God spoke clearly to me through Romans 10:9-10: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” God brought conviction to my soul. I realized I needed to accept the Lord Jesus and His work on the cross. The following Sunday morning I went forward at the invitation time, confessed my sin, and asked Christ to be my Savior. All these years later, tears run down my face as I remember the joy of being forgiven of my sins. From that day forward, I knew that no matter how bad things got at home, we were not alone. He was with us. I could pray when the nights were scary and when I feared for my mother’s life.

At the end of the school year, we moved one last time to Southwest Virginia. Although things were not any better with my dad, God once again provided a great church for our family. I learned to love God’s Word and found joy in His presence. When I was thirteen, my parents divorced. I saw my dad only a few times between then and age twenty when Gerald and I got married.

During the years after my parents’ divorce, my faith grew as my family lived in peace for the first time in many years. My prayer time was precious to me, and my love for Christ deepened. Other than God’s perfect love and Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, my mother’s life was the greatest example of God’s love and faithfulness. I love the Psalms. During a particularly troubling time in high school, God gave me Psalm 57 to calm my fear and build my trust in Him. Several times in my adult life, I have gone to those verses for comfort and assurance of God’s love and care.

Beyond the gift of my salvation, God has blessed me with a godly husband and a tremendous family. He has enriched my life through hundreds of children whom it has been my delight to teach of His love. Although it shames me to say that I have failed Him many times, I am so thankful that He has never failed me.