This beautiful conversion story is not long but it reveals the glory of God and the healing power of the Sacraments. Note her use of the term ‘self-oriented” which means overly concerned with one’s own desires, needs or interests. Isn’t that the perfect way to describe ourselves when we are in need of healing?

I especially like how this amazing girl described the ‘tactility’ of our Faith. Yes, the Sacraments are tactile or capable of being perceived by the sense of touch. God heals us through physical means.  He touches us.  The Sacraments are God Himself reaching out to us with His healing balm of grace.

Thank you, Healed By Grace, for reminding us of the power and love of our Savior and Healer!

 “There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole; there is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul.”

 Dear Cindy,

   Thank you so much for your reply. Your words and your experiences give me so much hope, I’m so glad that God has used you to communicate this message to those who need to hear it.  

  Of course I would love to share my conversion story with you. In some ways, it is quite an unusual one and it really goes to show how patient God is and how He is willing to wait for us to come back to Him. 

  I wasn’t raised in a religious family, so in primary school I was enrolled in non-scripture class when the other kids had scripture classes. In year 1, the teacher had a bit of a mix up and put me in the Anglican class – she didn’t believe me when I explained to her that I was not a Christian, so I ended up attending an Anglican scripture class that year. 

   From the very first class, I was fascinated by this man called Jesus. I specifically remember during Easter when I learnt of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice, and I think at that moment I considered myself a Christian. In the 13 years that followed, I would occasionally read the Bible, prayed and wrote letters to God, but there was always something very missing from my faith. 

  In 2008, my parents were invited to a Catholic parish by some family friends. They did the RCIA course and were baptized in 2009 (thanks be to God!).  At the time, I was still so complacent, believing that the faith I was practicing was enough. I was also convinced that Catholic doctrine and dogma was “not right”, despite not really knowing it all too well. 

   In the last 2 years of high school, I had an eating disorder, and it left me feeling very self-orientated, insecure and alone, as well as causing other physiological problems like amenorrhea. I distracted myself from the pain by focusing on school and my final exams – in hindsight, my illness was a gift from God, which helped me to do well in my exams and called me back to the Church. 

   Because I wanted to take my faith more seriously, I decided to do some research, and I went to my parent’s Catholic parish to explore Catholicism with an open mind. I joined the youth group, which helped me a lot – it was very encouraging to see young people take their faith so seriously. I joined an RCIA class in 2012, and was then baptized the following Easter in 2013. 

    It’s been such an amazing journey. I love how rich the Catholic traditions are, and how there is always more to learn. I found that to be such a huge difference between the Catholic Church and Protestantism. The tactility of our faith really helps to strengthen my relationship with Christ, is it always a constant reminder.  

  Thank you very much for your prayers Cindy! I too will pray for you and all the work you do.  

Healed By Grace

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 God love and bless you!

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