Jennifer Gray - Anger & Anxiety

I was baptized as an infant, grew up attending church on Sunday’s, and was then chose to be baptized again at age 10. My fondest memories are of attending church summer camps and youth group activities during my middle school and early high school years. I always loved God but never knew what it meant to have a personal relationship with Him.

In high school, to hide my insecurities, I began drinking alcohol which made me feel more confident to fit in with the “in crowd.” I even smoked marijuana and loved how it made me laugh and feel relaxed. In my 20’s I lived the life of “little miss goody two shoes” by day and “partier - looking for love in all the wrong places” by night. Through all this, I had never forgotten God. I prayed to Him often and continued attending church on occasion but never read my bible. I was living a “double life” and I knew it!

The longer my life of disobedience continued the angrier and more anxious I became. When I was married and began having my children, I knew it was time for me to stop the partying life and start going to church regularly. I was merely attending church as I always had. Finally I realized that I needed more: I needed to be in God’s Word and spend time with Him daily so I could learn who He is and grow closer to Him.

God blessed me with a Christian friend who I could be real with and I confessed to her my struggles with anger and anxiety which I was too ashamed to speak about with anyone else. My friend invited me to attend the Bible study she was leading. At that study, God broke down my pride and gave me the courage to confess how anger and anxiety had damaged my relationships with my husband and my children. God has filled our hearts and our home with His love, forgiveness, and compassion. My heart's desire is to share God’s truth and shine His light in this dark world!

God renews my heart and mind as I live in the light of these important truths:

1. God chose us to be His children before He even created us. He has given us His spiritual gifts of salvation, forgiveness, wisdom, and the power of His Holy Spirit to live according to His will for our lives. Let’s us receive His gifts and not let our anxiety and anger rob us of the abundant life He has planned for us. (Ephesians 1)

2. We are new creations in Christ Jesus. All our sin, anger and anxiety was nailed to the cross. We have the power of the Holy Spirit residing in us to overcome the power of our sins. (Romans 6, Colossians 2: 13-15)

3. We are being sanctified through Christ Jesus. We will never be perfect but thanks to Jesus we are no longer slaves to our anger and anxiety. We are followers of Christ Jesus and He is molding us and shaping us to be more like Him every day so that we may glorify Him. (Romans 6, 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12)

4. God has a purpose for each of our lives. However, we cannot live our lives without equipping ourselves with The Armor of God. (Ephesians 6:10-20)