"I always knew of Jesus. I just never had a relationship with Jesus." It wasn't until Claudia's daughter invited her to encounter Jesus in a new way that things changed. "I was told all the things I was doing would keep me from gaining His love. I was never told how I already had His love, and I didn't need to earn it anymore. I just needed to be more like him. From that day forward, I have been in pursuit of Him."

When quarantine hit in 2020, Claudia found herself at a defining moment. "I was pretty miserable, and I couldn't figure out why." With the help of therapy, Claudia uncovered patterns of codependency in her relationships that stem from the violence, instability, and brokenness that she grew up with.

"I got into friendships and relationships to feel something I wasn't getting at home." Claudia's marriage began to suffer to the point of separation as she focused on one codependent relationship at a time. She and her husband were ready to sign papers, but God showed her a different way.

From 2020, Claudia began taking steps to build healthy relationships with herself, God, and others. "I think a lot of people keep themselves from taking steps forward. 'I'm going to do this when...,' 'I'm just...,' those terms keep us from fulfilling our real purpose. God does not hold us back. He's empowering us, inspiring us, encouraging us. I'm done holding myself back." What's holding you back?

Last summer, Claudia was encouraged to take a rock and write what hindered her from fully living her purpose. For her, that was herself. She wrote "me" on the rock and has kept it as a daily reminder that who she is, as fully loved and fully able to love, comes alive only in who God is. Rediscovering the truth that she is already loved by God helped her to rediscover her ability to love people with newfound confidence. "[That realization] has made me so much better of a friend, wife, mother, daughter, sister."

She could sum up her story as, "before I had a relationship with Jesus, I was crippled with guilt, shame, I let my sins and what I wasn't doing to gain his love keep me from pursuing him. After I got to know Jesus, I am lighter, freer, more open to loving myself and others, and happier."

Do you have a story like that?

Claudia's Story | In Pursuit