“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”— Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV) Recently, I sat in one of my favorite bookstores, coffee in hand, lost in thought. Bookstores bring me so much joy . They give me a space to think and breathe, even if it’s just for a couple of hours each week. As I looked around, my eyes landed on a wall with bold, painted words: Wa•ter•mark Mo•ment. Beneath it, I found a definition: A moment that leaves a permanent mark; it changes or influences you forever in some way. Immediately, I began reflecting on my life, wondering which moments I would call my own ‘watermark moments.’ There have been so many defining moments. I entered foster care at eleven. I graduated, got engaged and then un-engaged. I eventually married a wonderful man. I lost my parents and grandparents. I grieved through infertility. I adopted my son and then gave birth to my own. Each of these life events changed and shaped me in profound ways. Yet, none of them altered my life more than the moment Christ invaded it. He turned it inside out and upside down in all the best ways imaginable. When I entered foster care, I was lost and had nothing to call my own. I had no home, no family, and nothing familiar. The upheaval stirred a deep, throbbing ache inside me. I felt the weight of my brokenness and understood my great need like never before. Though foster care was unbelievably hard, it was the kind of hard that pointed me to Christ. In Christ, I didn’t just have to survive anymore. I didn’t have to spend my days spinning my wheels, trying to prove my worth. I didn’t have to go to bed at night or wake up each morning wondering if I belonged. What Christ offered me is forever and eternal. Christ’s worthiness loves me despite my unworthiness and claims me as His own. In Christ, I am no longer orphaned or alone. I am redeemed and loved beyond what I can understand. Early on, in my new faith, I was encouraged to choose a life verse—something to mark that watermark moment that forever changed me. I landed on Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” Does walking with Christ remove life’s hardships? No. But it does mean God will guide me through them, standing by me in my pain. And that straight path? It’s not a road lined with rose-covered gardens or smooth, unburdened valleys. That straight path is the hope that one day, when life on this side of heaven ends, God will ‘receive me to glory’ (Psalm 73:24). That’s why, at nearly forty-five, I keep pressing on, even when so many around me have sadly fallen away. Christ is not just an intellectual exercise. He’s not a moral high ground that fools me into thinking I’m a good person. He’s not a religion or political construct. No, Christ is my Savior, who unequivocally changed me. Christ alone died for me—yes, for me, a lost and hopeless sinner without Him. It’s so easy for us to forget that simple, yet uncomfortable reality of who we are without Christ. I know firsthand the immense pressures this world places on us. Trials caused by others’ sin can make us want to give up our faith. The book of Hebrews even warns against ‘falling’ or ‘drifting’ away from the truth of the Gospel. In truth, we can’t keep ourselves—especially during life’s storms. Perseverance requires us to grow, mature, and stay anchored in Christ. Perseverance is a mark of true belief. Though life’s trials and the actions of others tempt us to quit, they also offer us opportunities to strengthen our faith and glorify God. Christ is the watermark moment in my life—my eternal joy. I deeply desire to be firmly anchored in the hope Christ has filled my life with. If God gives me the years, I want to be the kind of old woman who has remained steady, with my eyes fixed on my Savior. I want to pass from this life, hearing the words, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant’ (Matthew 25:21, ESV). I can think of no greater joy. Today, this is my prayer: That someday, I can still say that I trusted the Lord with all my heart. That I can honestly say I didn’t lean on my own understanding (at least not for long—because I know I am imperfect!). And that the end of my life will bear witness to God’s guiding hand upon it, showing the eager anticipation of the eternal glory that is to come.

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What’s Your Water Mark Moment?