On the Bathroom Floor and in His Arms: A Story of Faithfulness

I was excited in the days leading up to the calendar changing to 2025. As in years past, I had prayed and selected a word for the year based on what I felt the Lord was calling me to work on. I had previously focused on forgiveness and surrender, but the theme of faithfulness continued to capture my attention as I studied Revelation with Bible Study Fellowship. I remember trying to visualize what it would look like to live out the word FAITHFULNESS in every aspect of my life.  I desired to be faithful to the Lord in my role as a wife, mother, friend, daughter, and follower of Jesus.

I tried imagining what it would feel like to one day hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21).  I had set my focus on being faithful to God, but God knew 2025 would bring a year of transformation I could have never imagined. 

God also knew 2003 was the year I would experience ultimate life transformation by His grace as I came to a life-saving faith in Christ at the age of seven. I remember being at my Christian school learning about heaven and hell. Although I grew up in a Baptist church and Jesus-loving home, it wasn’t until that moment that I knew I was a sinner in need of a savior because what I deserved was hell. My teacher asked us the famous question, “If you died right now, do you know for certain you would go to heaven?” With child-like faith and an inability to wait another second, realizing for the first time I’m not even promised another second, I went to the only place I knew I could quietly talk to Jesus, the bathroom stall! As if Jesus were actually knocking on the door of my heart, I remember asking Him to come into my heart, save me from my sins, and, in that very moment, becoming saved. I was beaming with the joy of the Lord and couldn’t wait to tell my mom, dad, and grandparents that Jesus had saved me, and now, I knew I was going to heaven!

God was faithful to call me when I was young, but I lived with one foot in the world and only one foot in my identity in Christ. However, he knew 2016 was the year that he would be faithful to call me out of my lukewarm life and meet me at my worst. I will never forget the night I was at a concert and saw a text from my grandma. I read the verse she had texted Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” I looked up from my phone and saw Jesus. He told me, “You can continue going your own way, leading to your destruction, or you can go my way, and I will bless you.”

Upon leaving that concert, I decided to wholeheartedly devote my life to Jesus and no longer pursue my worldly ways. I was so serious that I purged my room. I threw away every piece of clothing that would be displeasing to the Lord, chunked every idol that took the place of Jesus in my life, and for the first time on my own, opened my Bible to the book of John. As I continued to open my Bible day after day, I not only fell more in love with Jesus, but I also wanted to live in obedience to Him. 

God, in His faithfulness, not only saved me from the pit I had dug for myself but also had good plans for me. I began following Him on a life-altering path, one step of obedience at a time.  He faithfully made a way for me to go to Mid-America Christian University to study Early Childhood Education. I left Colorado, where I had grown up, and my friends at Colorado State University. I moved in with my grandparents back in Oklahoma, where I was born. A few months after moving, in December 2016, my grandmother set me up on a blind date with the oldest son of her long-time, prayer warrior friend. Two years later, my Hallmark Christmas wedding dream came true, as I walked down the aisle to my husband, Blake Snider. I had always wanted to be a mom and a kindergarten teacher. The Lord opened the door for me to teach for three years before becoming a full-time stay-at-home mama to Blakely (3) and Matthew (1).  As I look back at blessing after blessing, none of which I deserve, I see the story my faithful, heavenly Father was writing all along.

God knew he wasn’t done transforming me. I was excited about 2025, but God knew the pruning and cutting off that would have to happen to keep me growing.  I gave birth to our son in February of 2025, and I started experiencing intense anxiety. Sometimes it took me a while to realize it was anxiety impacting my body. Other times, I would be doing something I’ve always done, and suddenly I would feel like I couldn’t breathe.

The Lord was good to remind me of Psalm 23. I memorized this chapter and would recite it anytime I began to feel anxious. My aunt Kimi shared Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭10‬, “The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” She encouraged me to imagine myself running into the Lord’s strong tower and feeling safe.  It was so helpful, but the trials of the year continued to increase.

Caring for a newborn, potty training a toddler, and focusing on postpartum recovery are challenging, but my mental health made this season feel impossible.  In addition, a very important relationship became strained, and unexpected challenges continued to plague our family. But God was working through it all, as He always has in my life. He saw me in a fetal position on my bathroom floor one too many times, caught every tear, met me in my war room, heard every prayer, and comforted me in the way only He can. I may never see on this side of heaven all the ways in which He truly has been faithful to me, but I can say with certainty that the Lord, in His faithfulness, carried me through 2025.

Psalm‬ ‭100‬:‭5‬ ‭says, “For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” Looking back now in March of 2026, I get emotional realizing why the Lord wanted me to focus on the word FAITHFULNESS. He wanted me to realize that it was less about me being a faithful wife, mother, friend, daughter, and follower of Jesus, and more about recognizing how all along He has been, is, and will be faithful to me. I can trust Him to save me, guide me, and carry me through every season.  It’s less about my actions for Him and more about His steadfast love and FAITHFULNESS to me.