We kept milk out in the snow because we didn’t have a refrigerator, heated our trailer by keeping the oven door open all night, went to the Salvation Army at Christmas time, made regular trips to the local food pantry, and traveled in the back of a pickup truck to move across the country. My childhood memories also include domestic violence, gross immorality, alcoholism, and the women and children shelter.

In Exodus 20:5-6, God says He visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Him, but shows steadfast love to thousands of those who love Him and keep His commandments. It seemed that I was ripe to follow in the line of the iniquity of my fathers, but God had a different plan, a plan that came before my fathers and began at the foundation of the world, that I would be holy and blameless before Him (Eph. 1:4).

By God’s grace I do not remember a time when I didn’t know that there was a God, that I was a sinner, and that if I wasn’t a Christian I would be condemned to hell for eternity. After my parents divorced when I was six, my mom went through a church phase that God used to expose me to these truths. Every Friday night as a church we watched apocalyptic movies, and I think I prayed to receive Christ at every weekly altar call. As time moved on, the church phase ended, but it left me with a fear of death and hell. I decided that since so much of my life was outside of my control as a child, my objective would be to survive childhood years. Then I’d become a Christian when I was grown up and could make more of my own decisions. Praise the Lord that, by His Holy Spirit, He didn’t allow me to grow up before He called me to Himself.

When I was 12 and visiting a Baptist church next door with some of my fellow trailer-park kids, the pastor preached on the end times, and I was again afraid of hell. The Lord brought to mind the verse, “Today is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). I must have heard it somewhere before. I was impressed with the reality that I didn’t have the promise of tomorrow.

After the service, I went to the Sunday school teacher and asked her to pray with me to become a Christian. She prayed with me, and (I believe) my conversion was genuine. I never saw that teacher again, and I suppose she likely assumed I was just another trailer-park kid who would be thrown back to the world. This is a reminder to me to take seriously God’s work in the lives of young people.

After about a year worshiping in a different church, someone from the Columbus Reformed Presbyterian Church invited me to attend with their family. At this point, God took me from being a Christian because of a fear of hell to serving Christ because of love for the grace He had shown me. I learned about the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man that has created a great chasm between the two. I came to understand better the greatness of a Savior who has bridged such a chasm by His perfect life and atoning death. This understanding produced a much more living faith and greater obedience to Christ, springing from gratitude to God for His work accomplished on my behalf.

I could say a lot about what the people of the Columbus RP Church, then pastored by Jerry O’Neill, mean to me to this day, but I want to particularly focus on one aspect. This congregation took me in. They picked me up for church, led me through lots of Bible study, and took me out for ice cream and to presbytery family camp. My favorite thing, though, is that they let me into their lives. I am now a busy young mom with lots of little kids, so I know it is not always easy to let someone else into everyday life; but that’s what these families did, and that’s what made so much difference. I saw in these families strong marriages where the husband and wife actually liked each other and were friends. I saw kids who were secure and protected and loved and trained. I learned that people actually live like this; I had only seen this kind of family on television. I saw something modeled that I wanted for myself.

This continues to be a lesson for me: it is important to share the gospel through neighborhood outreach, but we have to be willing to let people into our lives and be a part of theirs. This can be messy, inconvenient, and emotionally exhausting, but I am so thankful that I met people who were up for it.

As I continued as a part of the Columbus RPC, my family situation deteriorated even more, and eventually declined to the point that I needed to be in a different place. One of the wonderful couples in the Columbus church adopted me into their family. Talk about inviting messiness, inconvenience, and emotional exhaustion into your life! Paper and ink could never fully express my love for Jim and Carnel McFarland and my gratitude to God for using them in my life. They took a 15-year-old kid who they knew was very needy, requiring a lot of time and energy, and they chose to love me. They chose to have me as their daughter.

Sound familiar? That’s the gospel! God predestined and adopted according to His purpose and for His own glory. They have shown me the love of Christ in a beautiful way. Isn’t this what Christ has done for all of us? He takes us from our desperate situation; He chooses to place His love upon us; and He then goes even further to call Himself our Father! What wonder is behind the Scripture that speaks of the greatness of that love that the Father has lavished on us that we should be called sons of God (1 John 3:1)!

Jim and Carnel McFarland could not be any more my mom and dad had I been born to them. The Lord has blessed me in their home and as part of their family. They helped me work through many trials and emotions and shared in many joys. They protected and counseled me through my courtship with my wonderful husband, David, and they remain important counselors, confidants, and friends for us both.

My husband often tells me that he married above himself. Isn’t that sweet, given my background? We have come from very different upbringings and even different countries, but it is amazing how much we relate to each other in terms of Christian experience. David is more than I would have thought to ask the Lord for. I know him better than anybody, and I am always struck by the genuineness of his faith and his desire for the Lord. He doesn’t nag me in my walk before the Lord, but constantly challenges me by his example. He is a wonderful tool that God is using in my sanctification.

God has blessed our marriage with five crazy kids. If you have kids, you will know that these are another of the tools that God is using for my sanctification. My kids are the most forgiving people I know. I am constantly challenged with my own selfishness and aware of my dependence on the Lord as I clearly see my shortcomings and inadequacies.

Our family lives on the southside of Indianapolis, where David pastors. One of our favorite things to do together is to serve in the church here. It’s a great life! I have learned, and continue to learn, much about our God as I reflect on His dealings with me. As we go through hard things in life, God builds a track record of His faithfulness so that we might come through stronger in our faith. I love that God and His character are objective and unchanging despite my own subjective feelings. I appreciate that sometimes being calmed and quieted is a resolution rather than a result of our outside circumstances. Praise God that we are not victims of our circumstances or doomed to a certain path because of where we’ve come from. God heals even when scars remain.

This story is the long answer when someone asks how I became a Christian. The shorter answer is really the same story that I share with all of my brothers and sisters in Christ: the grace of God worked out in the life of a sinner. To Him be the glory!

By June Whitla

June Whitla lives in Indianapolis, Ind., with her husband, David, and their five children, Katheryn, Ethan, Calvin, Owen, and Cameron. She is a member of Southside RPC, where her husband serves as pastor.