“I was very stubborn and authoritarian.”
That’s how Rosa, 40, once described herself. She sought to control everything in her life, from people to situations. She grew up in a Catholic home in Mexico and only continued following the religion to honor her parents.
She spent her time reading self-help books and attending motivational workshops, enabling her false sense of control. Eventually, her children moved out to find some independence, leaving Rosa and her husband as empty-nesters. When she sought the support of her husband, she learned that he was being unfaithful.
Rosa had considered herself a strong woman, but she quickly realized she had no strength left.
In her desperation, Rosa began attending a local church. “I was not looking for Christ, I was looking for something else,” she says. She hoped to go unnoticed, worried that she would be rejected by the pastor. “I felt dirty,” she remembers. “I didn’t feel worthy of being there.”
But she was wrong. People in the church welcomed her with open arms. Days later, Pastor Ana invited her to attend a Bible League Project Philip Bible study, where she was quickly humbled. Rosa learned that while we are all created by God, we must accept Christ and live for Him to be a child of God. She learned that she was not in control of everything, but God is, and He is trustworthy.
Rosa’s children began noticing a change in their mother’s behavior. She invited them to join her, and one by one, her children began attending church with her. In 2020, her husband also began attending.
Rosa is forever grateful for the Bible studies that taught her about the Lord. “In the Project Philip Bible study, they taught us how God can bless us, and everything they taught was reinforced by a Bible verse,” she says. “Thank you very much. You made these studies possible. And thank God for the wisdom He gave you.”
