Andi Mitchell
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Andi Mitchell's Story
The Road of Life
I am somewhere that I never thought I’d be. Here’s the story of my journey and how I got here.
I can always remember believing in God and knowing about Him. I knew that He was big and that I was little and that I could not see Him. I have always been a ‘spiritual’ person, interested in God and spiritual topics to some extent, but it wasn’t until high school that I learned that there was more to God than that.
I even knew that I was sinful and did things that did not please my parents or God. The biggest area of sin that I can remember was my constant struggle with a temper. My sister seemed to know the perfect way to get under my skin and push my buttons. I’d lose control and lash out, landing myself in timeout time and time again. Besides my temper problem, I was a pretty good kid. The problem was, though, that I had a sin problem, which separated me from God. I simply did not have the ability to get rid of this problem on my own. It had power over me.
Anxiety is another issue that I have dealt with for as long as I can remember. I’ve always had to be the very best at everything I’ve done. Thus, I have struggled with the fear of failure. Therefore, I didn’t take a lot of risks because I didn’t want set myself up to fail. I also struggled socially and unable to easily make new friends, thus resulting in great anxiety. Growing up, I came to accept this as a part of my nature, and something that I really couldn’t do much about.
My story would be sad if it ended here, but God entered my world and changed things dramatically. It’s evidence that He’s a lot more than a policeman in the sky. God really became real to me in high school. I realized that He was a personal God and intimately cares about the details of my life. My understanding about the Christian life moved from my head to my heart. I decided to act on the faith that I had and I asked Him to be my Lord and Savior. He had died for my sins long ago, but it wasn’t until this point in my life that I accepted His gift.
My life began to change during this time. My temper somehow mysteriously disappeared! My only explanation is that Jesus took it out of my life. (I certainly did not have the ability to get rid of this problem!) My sister also became a Christian during this time and her life began to change. We were a human science experiment! My dad saw the changes in our lives and became a Christian too!
Although I became a Christian in high school, it wasn’t until college that I really began to grow in my faith. I got involved with a Christian organization, which taught me a lot about what it meant to live the Christian life. My first year in college was very difficult as I dealt with anxiety and perfectionism in my classes. I can remember going to Bible study and sitting there silently, too uncomfortable to say a word. I was very fearful, unwilling to meet new people, take risks, and trust God with new things.
It was during college, however, that God taught me a lot about using my life for something worthwhile. I decided to take a step of faith and go on a missions trip to Florida for the summer. I realized that missions work might really be the thing for me and I am involved in missions work fulltime to this day!
God has also worked a lot in my life socially. I even met a very special man, to whom I am now married! I am still not overly outgoing, but I am a lot more comfortable meeting and interacting with new people. A counselor helped me to realize that God could help me with the anxiety that I had been experiencing my entire life. I now take prescription medication to help the chemical balance in my brain to stay at a healthy level. I feel like a completely different person, more able to live as I was created to live because I am so much less concerned with anxiety. My life certainly is not perfect by any means, but I am amazed at the journey on which God has taken me.
I never thought that I’d be where I am in life. From being sinfully separated from God to fully accepted and loved, from being hot-headed to self-controlled, and from anxious to calm, God truly has worked in my life and to Him I am grateful!