COV LIFE BLOG

Personal Testimony – Denise and Xy Campbell

I was humbled with an unplanned pregnancy. The experience left me with a tremendous amount of difficulty where I became emotionally, physically and financially uncertain. This was a pain I thought I deserved for not being obedient to God. The pressure of this pregnancy and my thoughts fighting against each other brought me to the point where I justified my pitiful ideas. I can call them ‘pitiful’ now. Then, they were the best things that came to mind.

I moved on to an abortion plan, and a ginormous part of making this decision was fear. I thought that if I messed up, the world would stop spinning for not meeting its expectations. There was the fear of failure, fear of financial and emotional changes, fear of being judged, fear of dropping out of school, and the list went on. I did not want to take that long walk of shame, especially when the child would be without a father. One might ask, “Why didn’t you lean on Jesus?” It’s just that I didn’t know Him very well. By then my heart had already hardened. I found A Woman’s Place while Googling for an abortion clinic, and later explored the adoption option through an affiliated program. I realized Google lied to me when I had already made the appointment, which was to enter a pro-life building.

Later I was invited to a church dinner by Covenant Life Church (CLC) via A Woman’s Place. To me church, religion and Christians all had negative connotations, but I still went since they had free food. I felt loved there and a lack of judgment. After the event, I had a lot of questions and Pastor Justin Perry made time to meet with me regularly. He patiently answered my many questions about our purpose and who Christ really was. As a result, I trusted Christ as my Lord and Savior, and was baptized on July 14, 2013 at Cypress Point Park.

I was introduced to something very crucial called God’s grace. While I thought I knew God before, I did not understand the concept of Christ. Though people had previously tried sharing their Christian beliefs with me, I was not receptive due to their delivery lacking grace, empathy and humility. This led me to keep my beliefs personal. I quoted this as “spiritual but not religious”. It was a private practice with a desire to please God through good deeds. Had I been a believer at the time, I would have known how I would fail miserably.

​I am grateful for Pastors Justin, Drew, Jay and the church. I appreciate their support that harmonizes my Lord and I. Thank you all for helping me with Xy in every way, shape and form. If you catch me staring at her, it’s because she almost did not exist. It still amazes me how far this journey has taken me. I feel a difference within me and know God put me on this path for a reason. I trust Him now, and CLC continues teaching me about Him as I spread the little I know. CLC is far from any other church I have experienced. It may be quieter, but as a fairly new believer I pay more attention to the care of sticking to the Word and the delivery of an unwavering message that is understandable through layman examples. I cannot recall hearing Pastors reveal to the church their failures while they preach. This caught me way off guard, maybe as a newbie to the ‘life,’ but it made my pastors human and relatable.

I genuinely trust and enjoy the environment provided by CLC that allows my little family to grow. Now when I speak about church, it doesn’t feel negative and I usually add ‘family’ to the end. My Missional Community holds me accountable, not with a list of “I told you sos” and “shoulda-coulda-wouldas”. Instead it provides a place to continue my healing process after A Woman’s Place, where I continue receiving spiritual guidance. Lastly, I thank the members of CLC for helping me totally and completely commit to Jesus Christ alone for my salvation.

Denise Campbell