Ohio Conference

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable then they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matt. 6:26–27, NIV).

This is my favorite Bible verse, as it became my mantra in 2017. My husband moved from Iowa to Columbus, Ohio, to take a job at Amazon. One month after he started, he had a stroke while he was at work. The stroke changed every part of our lives. I became the breadwinner. He became dependent on me for basically everything. As my carnal nature is to worry all the time, this verse gave me great comfort, and I felt that God was helping me realize my need to depend on Him always.

“Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear” (Isa. 65:24, KJV).

My husband and I live in rural Ohio with our two daughters, sons-in-law and five delightful granddaughters. Our family farm is named “Winds of Faith Farm.” One day, God did something incredible.

I was busy in the house in southern Ohio, when all of a sudden my youngest granddaughters, Lydia and Gabrielle, bolted through the front door with terror on their young faces.

They screamed that our beloved mini-horse Dumplin had somehow gotten out of his stall and was galloping toward the road. The thought of what my granddaughters might witness was too much! But what to do?

“And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin” (Isa. 1:25, KJV).

I grew up in a nominal Seventh-day Adventist home where guilt abounded. “I’m going to be good,” my cousin and I would say. But we drifted away from God.

At 21, I was sincerely, miraculously converted. For 18 years, I struggled with guilt and could never quite “be good enough.” So I drifted away again.

Fast forward to 25 years of being “in and out of the world.” The tender pleading of the Father’s Spirit—wooing, entreating and drawing this wanderer to the Father’s heart of love—awakened my soul to return to God.

Editorial by Oswaldo Magaña

As we look back at March 2020, our hearts rejoice for how God has continued to bless ministry throughout the Ohio Conference territory.

It was clear that we did not know what the COVID-19 pandemic meant for our future, but we knew it could be devastating for our members, churches and conference. We are convinced today that it was God who took control of our steps and the lives of our department heads as we began responding to the challenging times under our rallying cry: “Though our churches may close, #MinistryDoesNotStop.”

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7, NIV).

To be honest, when I was first asked to write a devotional, I desperately wanted to decline. I felt my heart beat a little faster and my breath become shorter—symptoms associated with anxiety. The fear of not being good enough was so overwhelming, and I was just about to say no until I remembered 1 Peter 5:7. I’ve heard this verse multiple times, and right at that moment, it stuck with me.