But it bothered me for quite some time that our family didn’t attend church on a regular basis, only sporadically on holidays or special occasions. So, I intended to break my resolution about making resolutions. And it’s the smartest thing I’ve ever done.

When I decided that we should go to church, I wanted to do some research first. So I did a search for "places of worship," and got two hundred results. Only one name popped out at me. I had been to Holy Cross before to sign my daughter up for cheerleading, so I knew where it was. I saw that it had a link to a website, so I checked it out.

Who knew you could have fun at church? I didn’t. All the pictures of people laughing and enjoying themselves made me want to bring my family to this church. It was the only link I clicked on and now I know that God was truly leading us there.

My daughter and I went first. During the service, when I was having some trouble following the liturgy, there was a lady who came out of the choir to help me find my place. I thought that was so kind, for her to stop just to help me. I knew then that we had found a home.

Soon after, Pastor John asked us to attend Alpha, and we did. It was life-changing for us. It inspired us in a way we’d never experienced before to recommit our lives to God . It also allowed us to get acquainted with our new church family.

Once we finished Alpha, and later joined the church, I made the ridiculous assumption that life would be carefree and no trouble or hard times would ever darken our door. Boy, was I wrong.

In the next year, we would go through the hardest times of our lives. Illness, bankruptcy, job layoffs, and a custody fight. Finally, in the darkest days, a separation of our family -- all while trying to raise three children, two of whom were teenagers.

But the Lord knew what we would go through, and what we would need to go through it, which is why He lead us to Holy Cross. Our church family helps us so much, even when they aren’t aware of it.

Psalm 34:18 says, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." I have learned how true that is in my own life. Sometimes lessons are hard to learn, but His grace is always sufficient.