Morph

Stephen was born in 1977 to Brent and Lorna.  He was raised in a Christian home and was saved at the age of seven.  He understood what was being taught to him during his years of attending Sunday School and at home.  He realized that according to Romans 3:23 he was a sinner and that sin separated him from God, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and he also understood that the penalty for sin is death (eternal separation from God in Hell) which Romans 6:23 states, “For the wages of sin is death.”  However, because God loved him, He sent His Son to die for him according to Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”  Although he was saved at a young age, this new found joy made him want to share with others what he was now experiencing.  Also, being at a young age, he never really thought about Satan and the influence he could have on such a young life.  At the time, Satan started to introduce pride into his life and he began to see that the more he spoke about his faith in Jesus Christ, the less people wanted to hear about it and associate with him.  He then found the excitement of his spiritual conversion diminish as friends and sporting events increased.  Even though the routine of weekly Sunday School, church, and prayer meeting was a constant, his personal relationship with Jesus Christ was far from what he professed.  The transition from public school to high school increased his lack of a spiritual walk as friends and sports continued to take priority in his life. Though distant in action and thought, the Lord (in a still small voice) continued to pursue Steve in the quite times of his busy schedule.

In 1994, Steve’s Grandpa Smith died of cancer which devastated him.  He had grown up being very close to his Grandpa and had learned many things from this man.  It was during this time that he desired to recapture the inner peace and joy he once experienced and draw closer to the Lord.  However, he quickly fell back into the busyness of enjoyment he was finding in worldly pleasures.

The year 1995, again brought adversity into Steve’s life when he received news that his dad had been diagnosed with leukemia (cancer of the blood).  It left him pleading to the Lord for healing of his father, but it also brought about a renewed relationship with his Saviour.  The Lord answered his prayers allowing the cancer to go into remission and his dad began his road to recovery.  As things started to return to normal, he found himself drifting again from that personal relationship with the Lord.  As graduation approached, he felt the Lord calling him to Bible school to serve Him, but his desire to stay close to family and fulfill his own ambitions took precedence in his decision-making.

In the summer of 1996, Steve enrolled in a local college to pursue his love of water activities (Marine Mechanics) however, his heart was telling him different.  A few weeks before classes were to begin he had a conversation with a good friend who had just returned from a mission trip.  He made the comment, “the Lord would have to do something drastic in my life to change the decisions I had already made.”  On August 2, 1996, two days before classes were to begin, the Lord decided to change Steve’s ways of thinking.  On the Friday afternoon, after work and while swimming with some friends, he made the mistake of diving into an unknown area.  After striking the bottom of the river and breaking his neck, he was paralyzed from the shoulders down (C5/6 Quadriplegic).  While spending the next year in a rehabilitation hospital, the Lord worked in his heart and his spiritual walk started to strengthen.  He was given opportunities to speak and sing at different churches and this brought fulfillment to his life.  It was at this time he began dating Julie…