Marcia – She Is Found

 

My name is Marcia and I am from Brazil. Our culture is very open to spirituality so although my family background was Catholic I spent many years of my life exploring lots of different religions and spiritual practices. I took courses and joined classes, sometimes spending up to six months studying a particular religion. I didn’t really know what I was looking for but I also knew I hadn’t found it; after a few years I gave up my spiritual quest.

In 1998, I moved to Australia to study English, hoping to find success in the business world. I was from quite a poor family and I was determined to work hard to become financially independent so I could help my family in Brazil. I soon started my own business and I was working long hours, juggling multiple business ventures and constantly striving towards the next thing that would give me success. Eventually my focus on financial success started to take its toll on my personal life. I was rarely happy and at times I would have outbursts of anger and frustration that I seemed unable to control. I felt like I was losing myself and becoming a person I didn’t really like.

In 2000 my mother came over from Brazil for a visit. She had only one request when she came to stay, she asked me to take her to church every Sunday. I assumed that this would mean attending the local Catholic Mass but when she arrived she told me that she wanted to go to a different church. While I had been living in Australia my mum had become a Christian and started attending an evangelical church.

The first Sunday she was here we went along to a local church. There were only 50 people there and all of them were older than me but the music was wonderful. They were singing songs that I had not heard before.

‘Open the eyes of my heart Lord, Open the eyes of my heart, I want to see you’

I heard the words of this song and I burst into tears. These words captured what had been in my heart for so long. I wanted to see Jesus, all my years of seeking and striving had really been a search for Jesus. I knew God was there and I wanted to know Him. I continued to attend that church for many months, even after my mother went home to Brazil.

Something had stirred in my heart but I was still living with a crazy temper. I had become aware of Jesus but the change was happening very slowly. One day at church I was introduced to a beautiful woman named Sally Anne. She became like a spiritual mum to me. We started to meet regularly to read the Bible, pray and chat about all the questions I had about God. She was such a significant person in my life. The more I got to know God the more I saw my life start to change. It was really amazing. I started to let go of the materialistic desires in my life but I started to be blessed at the same time. I had been chasing things for so long but when I let them go they found me. God opened doors for me that I could not have opened on my own. My motivation changed from’ How does this help me?’ to ‘What am I doing that helps someone else’s life?’ and blessing continued to come into my life.

My love for Jesus kept growing and growing and I was passionate about sharing his love with others, especially my friends. One of my friends was another Brazilian woman named Heloisa. I prayed for her regularly but I honestly thought she was one of the least likely of my friends to become a Christian. But I kept praying.

Read Heloisa’s story next week.

To contact Marcia: Visit her YouTube channel