Surrendering to God’s Timing

Growing up, I didn’t know Jesus.

I knew who He was from my limited exposure in a very small church, but I couldn’t wrap my mind around how such a loving God would allow an innocent person (me) to live a life filled with rejection, abuse, abandonment and so much more.

We went to church on Sundays when we could, but when I entered high school my priorities changed and I found myself seeking alcohol, binge eating and other unhealthy habits to cope with the pain I was carrying.

I was lost and desperately seeking love and acceptance in the wrong relationships.

I was a person of compromise and saw no value in myself outside of what people thought of me. I remember feeling like I was in a dark cave and there was no way to get out. So, I had to make the best of an awful situation.

Those around me probably didn’t realize how bad the pain was. I was good at making myself appear to be this person that everyone loved and had no problems in the world.  I didn’t have any close friendships and those closest to me knew nothing about my darkest secrets or pain.

This way of coping carried on through my 20’s until I had a personal encounter with Jesus at the age of 30.

I began to learn about who Jesus was and what having a relationship with Him meant. I still had a hard time understanding, but as I connected to people and spent more time in the Word, I understood more.

My knowledge of Jesus went beyond what I knew, to  someone I experienced.

Throughout my healing journey, I came into contact with people of faith who were instrumental in my healing and growth journey.  

I started to feel a desire to help people but I convinced myself that I was too much of a mess to help others and that there was no way anyone would even consider working with me.

After much prayer and consideration, I completed a Professional Christian Life Coaching program in 2019. I loved the idea of partnering with women on their journeys and felt that the gifts I had would be valuable in that profession. I wanted to launch my own coaching business in early 2020, but once again, I would experience that God’s timing is better than my own.

The pandemic hit shortly after I completed my coaching program and my dream of my business never turned into anything. The dream and desire never went away, as I knew without a doubt that this was the path the Lord had put me on, but I continued to wait. 

In my season of waiting, I completed a bachelor and master degree in pastoral counselling and life coaching.

I took that time to invest in myself, my education and my training. I also invested in deepening my relationship with the Lord, seeking His will, and finding healing in some areas I had yet to tend to.

Through this process, I learned that my original business launch did not go anywhere because it wasn’t the right time. I was not ready to be the coach the Lord had designed me to be and I needed to surrender this vision I had for His.

In January 2023, Grace Focused Coaching was re launched.

You can connect with Christine on IG and Grace Focused Coaching 

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