A beautiful Rose
“God has a plan for all of us, and there’s a reason why everything happens.”
Although we may have our own set of expectations from life, God always has a different plan. Sometimes we may not be able to understand or even see it, until he reveals it to us. What is important to remember is whenever we go through these trials– we must always stay faithful to God. Despite what life may have thrown at her, that’s exactly what Ruby does. Her faith is astounding for a person her age. She truly is a woman of God.
Ricky Jean~ Chief Editor
Adriana: Tell me a little about yourself. Where did you grow up, stage in life, working, going to school, are you from DFW originally?
Ruby: I actually grew up in Texas. I was born and raised in Irving, Texas. A little rinky-dink town. I’m 22. I work for an Auto Finance place in Collections. The company I work for is Exeter Finance. I love the company though, they take really good care of us actually. During the whole Covid thing they were actually quick to send us home, which I was really grateful for.
I actually got kicked out of my parents’ house at the beginning of Covid. I never had a good relationship with my parents, and so, it finally led to me getting kicked out because I just exploded. I just couldn’t live there anymore. So I went to go live with my best friend, and I lived with her for about six months. I was really grateful because towards the end her mom actually was like, “Hey, I’m not going to charge you rent.’
“I’m going to let you save up, so that way you can move out.” I’m really grateful for her because if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t have been able to move out. Now I live on my own but I have a roommate. It’s a two bedroom apartment. We moved in together this past December, and we just been living together since.
Adriana: What are some of your favorite hobbies and something you would consider unique about yourself?
Ruby: I’m a very happy person. I’m literally always smiling. If I’m not smiling then there’s probably something wrong. That’s how I’ve always been, even while growing up in my situation with my parents. Everybody knew me as a very happy person. I always just try to be happy no matter what. Everyday is not promised. So I just try and look at the positive in everything.
Adriana: Tell me how you were met/invited to Church?
Ruby: It wasn’t until I actually met German (I actually used to go to Elementary school with him), then I moved so we lost contact. It was funny because the friend I used to go to church with– the guy that she was dating was friends with German. That’s how we met back up. One day he got in touch with Alan, and he was like “I’m going to give a girl your number, so that way you can text her, and ask her more information and set-up some studies.”
I was like “Ok, cool. I’m fine with that.” I actually went to Devo, that was like the first service that I went to. I honestly did not expect Edie to look like what she looks like! I was not expecting a ginger, and I did not expect her to have a British accent. The funny thing is I love impersonating a British accent, I was so amused by her. She actually did my first bible study alongside Claudie.
It just goes to show that God has a plan for all of us, and there’s a reason why everything happens.
Adriana: Describe your relationship with God prior to studying The Bible and how it has changed?
Ruby: I didn’t really have a Christian background growing up. I lived with my real mother for a few years, and then I actually went to live with my dad. When we went to go live with my dad he met my step mom, and she was actually Catholic. We ended up becoming Catholic as well. We would go to church every Sunday. In a Catholic church– I guess you could say it’s traditional, so it’s very boring.
So I didn’t ever really grasp what they were talking about in church. It was actually a girl who used to babysit us, and she took us to her church. That was a Baptist church, but we went to the Youth Ministry. That’s where I got my first understanding of who God was. She ended up passing away, so we went back to the Catholic church.
I basically went to a Catholic church all of my life, and then one of my friends actually invited me out to her church. It was a Christian church in Irving. It was really nice. It was like a completely different feeling from the Catholic church. It was really refreshing being able to actually understand what they were talking about.
They weren’t necessarily delivering the truth, because in my mind I thought as long as I repented and asked for forgiveness before I died– I would be saved. I was completely wrong on that. Eventually, I actually quit going to church altogether and I lived a worldly life.
I used to have these fits of rage. I had really bad anger issues. Even though I was a nice person, people also said that I was mean. I used to be harsh sometimes. Once I started reading and informing myself of God’s word, and really trying to correct what I’ve done, knowing that I had to forgive my parents for what they have done. That was like a hard pill for me to swallow.
Understanding they may not have realized what they were doing, but I also didn’t help because I didn’t express the way that I felt. But a lot of times it was hard to express to them, because my step mom ran the house like a dictatorship. She had a very “It was my way or the highway” type of mentality. We couldn’t really express ourselves like we wanted.
Adriana: What are some of your favorite scriptures and why?
Ruby: The scripture where God is talking about forgiveness and forgiving others. If we can’t forgive others– how do we expect God to forgive us? That was something that really hit me, because I had such resentment towards my parents. It was a scripture that really hit me in my heart, because as much pain they may have caused me– God still loves them, and they are his children too. And they may have not known they were doing wrong.
At the end of the day I still need to forgive them, because if I didn’t forgive them then I’m not being a true Christian. And I’m not living God’s word. I’m sinning as well. Before I got baptized I wanted to actually talk with my parents, and ask them for forgiveness. I had also made my heart cold towards them. It was the day before I got baptized. When it came down to it, and actually talking to them it was actually quite easy.
Adriana: What advice would you give someone who has started studying the Bible or is considering it?
Ruby: To really be open. Ask questions. It’s okay to ask questions, especially if you’re just getting into it. There’s a lot that we don’t know, so if we ask those questions the Bible has the answers. But you also have those there in the study with you who has been studying the bible, and they’ve gone through this process themselves. So ask them those questions, that way you can make yourself a better disciple. A better follower of God.
Just be open minded and have a soft heart when you go into it. It’s going to tear you down, but God will build you back up into something beautiful.
Adriana: What do you love about the Kingdom?
Ruby: I love how friendly and how family oriented it is. Growing up in a Catholic church (at least the one that I went to) we weren’t very involved or very family oriented. Everybody just kept to themselves. They were very hypocritical, and very judgmental people. It was never like a comfortable place. Being a part of DFWICC is a completely different environment.
Everybody makes you feel welcomed as if they’ve known you forever. And it’s just an amazing feeling compared to any other churches I’ve been to. Even like the Christian churches that I’ve been to. I’m not saying people are mean. But you don’t’ see people going up to you as if they’ve known you, and give you hugs and just being so welcoming. It’s very shocking at first. It’s almost like “are people ok?!”
But when you go through that, and do the studies and you get baptized– you see why it’s like that. It’s God. He just makes you so happy and so cool, and he’s brought all these beautiful people to you. They are going through the same thing as you. It’s just nice how family orientated it is.
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