This Is My Story

By Nick Bowland

In October 2011, I was in a hell of my own making. My wife and I were separated, My youngest son was placed in a classroom for children with emotional and behavioral problems at school, and I was overwhelmed with anxiety and depression.  At the time I also claimed to be an atheist.  However, God so loved me and my family that He allowed me to find Him through such a turbulent storm.  One late October night, I stood in my backyard and surrendered to God.  I asked Him to help me and my family, begged for His forgiveness and prayed for answers as to what I should do.  For 12 years my wife and I had not attended a church more than a dozen times, but that night God showed me the way to the light.  Over the next few days, things started to turn around.  I was offered a job at a Christian school for children with autism; I moved back in with my family; and I asked my wife about maybe attending a church.  God responded, and for the first time, I listened.  My wife was more than happy to go which shocked me because she's never really wanted to attend a church in all our years of marriage.  That Sunday we attended Moon Valley Bible Church for the first time, and I knew I was supposed to be there and be a part of the Moon Valley Music Ministry.  After service was over, I approached one of the band members and asked how I could play acoustic guitar for the church.  The following week I was playing guitar.  My journey to know Christ had officially begun.

For the next few months, I played acoustic guitar every week.  I had never heard Christian music before, so I had to practice for several hours every week.  The time and work felt effortless.  I had discovered that there was a spiritual being looming inside me all that time.  I had always thought that I was alone.  Being a part of Moon Valley’s Music Ministry has shown me that the entire time Christ had been carrying me just like the poem ‘Footprints In The Sand’. 

Things have changed for me and the church since then.  My family and I are doing better and I feel stronger in my relationship with God than I thought possible.  I feel that the welcoming atmosphere at Moon Valley and in the music ministry is responsible for this drastic change.  The music ministry kept me going to church, got me involved with the church, has strengthened my relationship with God, and has permitted me to belong, believe, and become.