by Becky Areekul
If I had to give a testimony of God’s faithfulness to me during my college years, it would definitely be Lighthouse Bible Church. For me to proceed any further I believe it would be best if I explain a little about my background. I come from a non-Christian family. Not only were they unbelievers, but they were Buddhists worshipping spirits and inanimate objects. So I was raised with familiarity to these things. But if this was the extent of what I was exposed to, I think that I would not have experience God’s faithfulness through Lighthouse in the ways that I did. Because I come from an unregenerate family and a futile religion, I grew up witnessing infidelity, vengeance, wrath, and debauchery of all kinds. There was nothing conventional about my family circumstances. In order for any person to emerge from these circumstances and still be functional, one would need to be either calloused or hopeless. I became both. In His great mercy, the Lord saved me during my freshman year of high school. After I came to know God, it felt as if I was emancipated from that darkened lifestyle. Emancipated, but yet marred, I was still hopeless, not in God but in man and myself. To me there was no such thing as a faithful family, no such thing as a faithful husband, faithful wife, faithful friend, or a faithful pastor. Why? Because my past experiences still told me that no person, including myself, can be faithful to anything or anyone.
But upon coming to Lighthouse and having the privilege to be part of the family, I witnessed faithfulness for the first time in my life. And that faithfulness was first, and foremost, to God. I witnessed a people running hard, laboring to the point of exhaustion for God and His people. I witnessed a people rightfully serving a King whom they professed to be worthy—the Lord of Lords. I witnessed faithful families and faithful people; not because they were perfect, but because they yearn and strive to live for the God that has saved them from condemnation and adopted them to be His children. This chipped away the callouses surrounding my heart and instilled new hope in me. Now I see more clearly and understand that it is absolutely possible to live according to His righteousness and to be a faithful person through Christ who strengthens us.
Thank you pastors, elders and the faithful women of this church. You all have been God’s instruments and part of His faithfulness to me through my time in college. God used all of you to show a broken, marred, and hopeless girl what it is to be a child of God, to have hope again in God and in each other— both now and in the life to come. I am beginning to understand why God places so much emphasis on the nuclear family. I’ve always heard that a family faithful to God and His design is one of the greatest testimonies we can have for His Kingdom, but never understood why until now. These testimonies that I’ve witnessed in our church have given me hope, strength and peace. Thank you, Pastor John, for laboring so hard as our shepherd. Out of all the people I read and hear (Macarthur, Spurgeon, Lloyd-Jones, etc.) I’m most excited to hear from you every Sunday. Thank you, Angela, for personally showing me the significance of faithfully executing the role of a wife and mother and how that makes a direct impact on the Kingdom of God. And thank you, Lighthouse family, for spurring me on to laboring to the point of exhaustion for our great King for He is worthy.
Favorite Food: Korean, Japanese, Thai
What is your favorite Bible verse, and why: Psalm 16:5. It reminds me that ALL I have, whether circumstances or materials things, are all from the Lord.
What is your most memorable moment in college: When I reconciled with Jenn Lee, late night studying Mammalian Physiology with Anna Jung Kim.
What will you miss most about college: Flexibility with time.
What do you look forward to the most about graduate life: Moving on to the next stage of life and enjoying Gods will in that season.