Raised to Life

by Brittany Boudoin

I have spent the majority of my life lost. 

When I met my daughter’s father, I didn’t know that our relationship would lead to me being found.
God, however, had a plan all along.

I met Alex’s dad, then found out that I was pregnant less than six months later. We married to get insurance.
We just did what we felt that we had to do.
We were two lost people trying to find our way and make a life.

We had no foundation other than our daughter. 

Less than two years later, we separated.
I felt like I had been robbed financially and emotionally.
I was stolen from materialistically and internally. 

I was empty, broken, and literally broke.
How did I let it get this far?
What do I do now?

I had no one to reach out to or point me in the right direction.
I continued to wander aimlessly, still lost.
My turning point came from a moment of vulnerability. 

I posted a long, quite pitiful Facebook post asking for prayers. I shared how tired I was of feeling the way that I felt.
I wrote that I knew I wanted to change, but didn’t even know where to start. 

I immediately received a message from Kim. She shared truths that have changed my life:
God cares more about my plan than I do.
God loves my daughter more than I ever can.
God loves me more than I can imagine. 

That was on a Wednesday.
I went to church that next Sunday. 
I haven’t looked back since then. 

Since that Sunday, women have surrounded me and poured into me.
Mallory picked me up, invited me in, and helped me to get plugged in.
She invited me to my first small group, where I met Kristi.
Kristi talked to us about baptism and life change. 

One invitation to church led to one invitation to a small group.
One invitation set off a series of events that gave God room to reach me and rescue me.  

It didn’t take long to realize that I was never meant to do life alone. 
I couldn't fix the mess, change my lifestyle, or build a family alone. 

I needed community and I needed God. 

God continued speaking to me about baptism, and in March 2019, I obeyed. 
In front of my family, friends, and church, I dedicated my life to Jesus and was baptized.

When I was raised out of the waters, I felt weight released from me.
I realized that I was leaving it all in that tub. 

Every heartache. Every mistake. Every question.
Everything that I felt robbed of. Everything. 
It was truly a new beginning. 

I was raised to life.
A new life.
A life where I follow Him.
A life where He defines me.
A life where I am free.

Anyone can get baptized, but it’s the community that keeps you growing.
The people around me pushed me, checked on me, kept me in the Word. 

A few years ago, I wouldn't have believed that I would be living the life I am.
That woman in a deep, dark, desperate hole would not believe the woman I am today.
I wouldn’t believe that I would be saved and set free.
I wouldn’t believe that I would be healed and whole.
I wouldn’t believe that I would have a family that follows Jesus.

But God saw me and still loved me.
He reached into the dirtiest places to rescue me.

Take it from me, you want God in your life.
You want His love and His grace.
You need people in your life.
You need the community and accountability. 

It doesn’t matter how dark your situation is, how desperate you are,
or how deep of a hole you have dug yourself into. 
He sees you. 
He loves you. 
He can rescue you.

The enemy tried to rob me, but now I am a woman who was rescued by God.
A woman redeemed.
A woman renewed.
A woman raised to life.