Stacy wasn’t raised a believer, yet she remembers feeling the Lord knock on her heart during her rebellious teenage years. “I knew my faith was strong during my freshman year in high school, but I had no idea what it meant. I didn’t know how, or who, or where to begin. I had a Mormon friend I would call a lot, and I’d attend church now and then, but mostly I kept it all to myself.
“When my mother passed away from pancreatic cancer, I felt God’s knock again and it was louder. I put it aside because I was struggling with addiction, a time when things like love, laughter, family and belief went to the wayside.” Stacy also thought that it would somehow be disrespectful to her mom. “How dare I believe when she didn’t?”
Even during those darker times, Stacy felt the Lord’s gentle prodding on her heart. “I had a mentor who would sometimes say, ‘I will get you to pray out loud.’ To remember so much about him now is a blessing to me. The seeds of God’s work in my life have spanned 20 years with Mariners church. Like a magnet, I kept coming back, and I always felt comforted.
“After I became pregnant with Blake, Mariners was the place I felt joy and comfort. Pastor Paul showed up for me and I knew everything was going to be okay. Mariners lifted me up, and that’s where I needed to be. That’s when my roots began to deepen. I’ve written to Pastor Paul for years about my health issues, and when my second stroke happened, he visited me in the hospital numerous times.”
She doesn’t remember ever having a moment when the bible wasn’t in her hospital bed with her. “I have flourished in my faith, and I can now instill those values into Blake. I read the bible every day. I have workbooks, and I highlight Gods word. Blake and I write to God at night. He has his own book and I have my own. Usually we pray for 3 people and are thankful for 3 people, and I ask him what he would like to say or ask God. Slowly we are getting there.”
Despite her current issues which includes a newly found mass on her lung, she has surrendered it all to God. “It is so completely out of my control that it is laughable. One minute I’m with Blake, and the next minute I could be in the ER. My faith is becoming so much stronger and it’s such a relief that I have that. I don’t have the weight on my shoulders. It’s making me enjoy motherhood and the love that I have for God.”
She says, “I can’t get enough of what I’m trying to give myself every day. There will always be a new me! In trusting God, I absolutely let go!”
Stacy shared her favorite bible passage, Ephesians 6:14: Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place.
