I met Ms. C in junior high.

All I knew about her was what I could see while looking at her. She had dark hair and thick curls. She had a contagious smile and laugh. The church congregation sat in silent awe when she sang solos in the Christmas Eve services and we all felt special when she welcomed us with hugs.

I genuinely thought she had the best life. She was the wife of a loving husband. She was the mother of adoring children. She was a mentor and one of the few adults who saw beyond the awkwardness and insecurities of my teenage self long enough to teach me some truth.

In high school, I spent more time with Ms. C. I learned that she did have a wonderful life but not because of the people and situations around her, but because she let God be the center of her world a long time ago. She had one of those stories I didn’t see coming.

We had one of those nights at a youth retreat where we talked too much, listened too much and were left with an emotional headache in the morning. There were half a dozen girls in the hotel room, piled into the two beds listening to Ms. C talk about her life and share her hard-earned wisdom. I can’t remember how the talk started but I remember listening intently as if I knew something important was about to happen.

Ms. C had a difficult childhood and a family home that she knew she didn’t want for her own kids. She faced more tears than smiles, more cruelty than love, and more hindrance than help. She said she was lost for too long. That she tried to fill her life with people and temporary things before she grabbed on to God and never let go. Then she said:

“God loves you exactly where you are—but he loves you too much to leave you there.”

That line has stuck with me over the years. I have realized that I shouldn’t be afraid to ask God to meet wherever I am spiritually because He’s able. And I shouldn’t be surprised when He pushes me out of my comfort zone because he knows it would not be good for me to stay the same forever.