God Turned My Life From “Not Quite Right” to “Just Right”
God Turned My Life From “Not Quite Right” to “Just Right” God Turned My Life From Not Quite Right toJust Right
I’m Michelle Zarrillo and this is my story.
Of all the years of my youth, 11th grade was by far thehardest. It was the year that I began to question theexistence of God. At that time I began a search for the purpose oflife that I would not complete for seven years.
After I lost my mother when I was 19 years old,my worries began to intensify. In spite of all my efforts, I stillfelt a great void in my life. Nothing ever filled that void…until Ifound the Lord.
They say a life filled with activity suggested a life with apurpose. Activity, I had. But a life -fulfilling purpose? No way. Itried everything. I devoured self-help books. I took seminars touncover the depths of my “inner being”. I worked onbuilding my self-esteem. I was motivated and on fire for manycauses….but none of them ever satisfied me. There was always a nextstep. Deep inside, none of these activities made me feel worthwhileor cared for.
Shortly before I was married in 1993 at the age of 23, my fathertook me aside and asked me if I had a “personal relationshipwith the Lord”. Because I prayed and sometimes it seemed myprayers were answered, I believed that I could tell my father,”Yes, I have a personal relationship with the Lord”. Inreality, I knew of God, but I did not know Him. I did not know Godlike I know my family. I could pick out a shirt for my dad – or fixmy family’s favorite meal. I knew what would please them. But, I hadno idea what would please God.
And so my life progressed. I graduated from Chiropractic College,moved, fell in love and got married. – all the things that aresupposed to be mile-marker accomplishments of life. I thought at thattime that I could look God in the eye and say, “See what Idid. Now I have done enough to make up for my shortcomings.”
Deep down, however, I knew that wasn’t “enough”.Through the urging of my husband, I began a Bible study with him andtwo men from the Lehigh Valley Baptist Church. Certain passages fromthe Bible began to really hit home with me. “How can man, whois born of woman, be justified before a Holy God?” Another wasespecially significant – “For by grace are ye saved byfaith: that not of yourself, it is a gift of God”. For thefirst time I began to see that my shortcomings were based in sin. Itwas hard, at first, to accept that I was a sinner. That concept surewasn’t good for my ego. The Bible says that all sin is equally bad inGod’s eyes. I began to realize that I had been deceived.That’s how Satan works. He shows you the vicious crime inthe world, and you feel good that the little sins you commit aren’treally all that bad. I learned, though, that next to God’sperfection, even a small sin is like a mud spot on a white carpet.
It disturbed me greatly to learn that God can’t bear to look onsin. It hit me that all my life, God couldn’t look on me. I realizedthat I no longer wanted to live my life just on my own abilities. Ineeded help. I needed a Savior. That night, I asked God to save mefrom Hell. I asked Him to take me into His family and make me Hischild.
My prayer to God was not long, or eloquent. But, if I could do itall over again, I would do it on the Six O’clock News so the wholeworld could know what unties the knot in the pit of your stomach andturns “not quite right” into “just right”.I had been “religious” for 23 years before someone hadtold me what Christ had done for me almost 2000 years ago. I hadknown that “Christ died for the sins of the world”. Itnever occurred to me, though, that He had suffered for MY sins.By accepting that I was the sinner…that Christ came to thisearth to save ME, I was saved and born into God’s family.
Some time has passed since I was saved in February of 1994.Everything did not change overnight, rather it has been little bylittle. I can now honestly say,though, that my life has become sosweet. It is not always easy to follow God’s way and not my own. But,how can I not follow His way? No one has ever cared for me like myLord. God has blessed me with a good marriage, a good job, friendsand, just recently, with the joy of knowing there is a baby growingwithin me.
Of greatest comfort, though, is the knowledge that He is myFather, and I can turn to Him at any time and He will do what is bestfor me. There is nothing else I could ask for.
If you would like to know more about the Savior that changedMichelle’s life, you are welcome to attend the
Lehigh Valley Baptist Church4702 Colebrook Avenue
Emmaus, PA 18049
Or call us at (610) 965 4700 or 1-800-893-9586.