A Biblical Time Out That Changed Everything

Dear Pastor Ethan,

My name is Caitlyn and I was at the Geauga County Safety Center few months ago. I was there for about a hundred days. My faith was good but without you and your program I never would’ve made it through the ordeal of being taken away from my family and my four children. You and Louann kept me solid in my faith and kept me solid as a human being. The guidance and the wisdom, not just from reading the Bible, but from you and Louann, giving me someone to talk to about the Bible personally helped me put everything together.

I didn’t do anything tragically wrong. I just got messed up with the system. With you, and the Bible, and Louann it all combined to be a biblical time out which drew me closer to the Lord. The Reformers Unanimous program got me thinking a lot and helped me study the Bible and apply it to my everyday life.

This "time out" put everything in perspective for me. As I sat there and got closer to the Lord, I came to realize that I don’t have to be bitter and angry. I can forgive and forget, and there is Someone to lean on. There is Someone to talk to and that is the Lord. Whenever I run into a conundrum or I start to question things, I know I can always turn back to the Bible.

I asked Louann about my conflicts, "Where is the answer? Why this and why that? And why is God allowing all of this to happen? Here I am taking a biblical time out, but I'm pulled away from my children." I know now that the Lord did it for a reason. The Lord had to bring me closer to Him. I never would have seen it that way without what you do, and without what you and Louann and your programs offer. I need the Lord, I need the Bible, and I need Louann to this day. It keeps me going, and I know that I have a purpose here on earth. I’m not just a mom. I am the light for other people. Anybody can turn their lives around by turning themselves over to the Lord.

Without a program like the one you offer—one that teaches, explains, and helps people truly explore truth—there would be so many more lost people. I cannot thank you enough for what you have taught me and what you have shown me. The Bible you gave me while I was in the Safety Center still sits on my dashboard. It’s full of highlighted passages, notes, and things God opened my eyes to during that time. Now I’ve started working through a new Bible that Louann gave me. I’m beginning on the outside and slowly applying it to all the rest of the chaos that life brings. I have honestly found myself seeking the Lord trying to please the Lord and doing what the Lord wants me to do. It has absolutely changed my life. I am a much better person when I'm walking with the Lord.