Stephanie grew up in a loving, supportive home with great parents, but as she describes it, “We were Christmas and Easter Christians. I wouldn’t say I was raised in the heart of the church, but I was raised in a great home with very loving parents.”
“We all have insecurities, vulnerabilities,” says Stephanie, “things we’re running from, things we’re trying to deal with. We believe we’re not good enough, that we don’t fit in. I fit myself into what I thought others thought of me, that I was annoying, that I’m not good enough,” she said.
So when she went to college, those insecurities and vulnerabilities plagued her. “I had a boyfriend, and I adored him. I thought he was my person, that we would be together always. I felt like he was the pin who held me together. But we broke up in my junior year, and I fell apart,” she says, “and at that time I faced a serious threat of alcohol abuse and went into a downward spiral.”
Stephanie questioned her value, her worth. But God had plans for her, and He came after her.
She was already in the midst of planning to study abroad in Seville, Spain. “I went with Michelle and Kelsey. Michelle and I had been best friends since we were 8 years old.,” she said. But what Stephanie says she didn’t see coming was that Michelle had become a strong Christian. “She had met Jesus, and He changed her life, as He tends to do,” she said. “Kelsey was also a strong Christian who had grown up in a Christian family.”
Stephanie had never really interacted with a Christian that she knew of. “I watched this happen in Michelle’s life, but I wasn’t really a part of it. And now, on this trip, I was surrounded by Christians who loved Jesus and who answered my questions. I was also able to start dealing with what was going on in my heart [after my breakup], and for the first time, I felt safe to talk this over with close friends,” she said. “But I still wasn’t convinced about Jesus, but I did start seeking Him.”
What follows is the story of how Stephanie met Jesus in the Sistine Chapel. “I saw the fresco of Michelangelo’s Last Judgment, and I locked eyes with Jesus in the painting. It was as if I was seeing a best friend after a long time. I felt this immediate draw to Him, and from that moment on, I said, ‘Jesus, I’m in.’ And that’s how it happened.”
“I became a Christian in the Vatican. I was hung over, wearing a pub crawl T-shirt, still smelling like beer. That’s where Jesus found me. I have to remind myself all the time that He didn’t say, ‘OK, get out of that pub crawl T-shirt, take a shower, wear this churchy outfit, never do that again, and you can be with Me.’ We don’t have to fix ourselves and clean ourselves up and then be acceptable to Him,” she says.
Yes, Jesus did find her. He did show her how He feels about her, how He feels she’s worth it, and how much He values her.
There’s much, much more to Stephanie’s amazing story of how God found her and what He’s been doing in her life, and you can hear it on this episode of STEP INTO THE STORY.
Today, she is an author and popular podcaster. Her greatest passion is “helping women navigate some of the major life transitions so many of us experience in our 20s and 30s,” she says. “My specialty is helping women thrive in their most important relationships: With God, their significant others, their friends, and themselves!”
Her top-rated podcast is called Girls Night with Stephanie May Wilson. “Girls Night is a weekly, interview-style podcast that feels more like a coffee date with your mentor + a conversation with your best friends,” she says. “The episodes will walk you through the biggest transitions we face as 20 and 30-something women: Being single and getting into a relationship, getting engaged and then married, becoming a mom, changing jobs, moving to a new city — and it will help you stay close to your friends (and strong in your faith!) through it all.” The Girls Night with Stephanie May Wilson podcast has 16 million downloads over 6 years and 17 seasons.
Listen to our full episode of STEP INTO THE STORY with Stephanie May Wilson above or find it on Apple or Google!
Find out more about Stephanie here.
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