3 minutes ... why not four?

I had Joey time my "3 minutes testimony" and it turns out that it was 4 minutes! Arch!!! So here is the "3 mintues testiomy: in it's 3 minute fromat" I really hope I didn't ake to much out.

"Hi I am Roxanne Paul, I am from Ottawa, Canada.


Growing up I felt an intense pressure to meet my future husband while I was in my teens.
I went from boyfriend to boyfriend, searching for the guy you would fill all my needs, wants and desires. This lead me to find myself divorced by my early twenties.

While I was in this painful situation, my mother took me aside.
She told me I should go back to the church based youth group I had attended a few years earlier, as at least then I was happy. To get her off my case I promised her that I would go on two conditions 1) that would be on a weekend I was off which were very few, and 2) that it didn't cost to much money.

It didn't take long that I had received an invitation to a weekend retreat from that youth group, which met both those conditions.

Once there, of course all dolled up in case I were to meet a great, handsome, polite church guy, I looked the crowd over, no handsome guy. I took a seat and sighed in desperation. Then I though maybe he is just running late, I choose to listen to the talk in order to talk with him at brake.

Then minister walked in, I was shocked he was not an ordinary clean cut boring man. He had long hair, piercings, and tattoos, Needless to say he intrigued me. He stated that the fast paced life style of needing and wanting everything NOW is not how God intended for us to live and that is why we have so many problems. This all made so much sense to me, this is when I started truly listening. That weekend I realized so many things:
-that God loved me, the way I had longed to be loved all my life, that is unconditionally, I realized that this love could only be filled by God, not some guy.
-I learned that I was constantly getting hurt in relationship because I was not living the way God designed me to live. But God was giving me an other chance, I accept all Jesus did on the cross for me and told God all my sins. A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders and I felt like a whole new persons.


With all this new knowledge, I knelt down in the chapel and said "God, I give you permission to love me" this was not easy as I had been so hurt by those I loved. As I gave God permission, I pleaded with him, to not hurt me and to be very gentle. That is when, In my mind I saw the picture of a rose bud being gently opened to reveal a magnificent rose. He said that some of the peeling might hurt but that he would do it patiently, gently, and lovingly.

The unfolding of the rose, my heart, happened with God and of some incredible people that have entered my life. I started attending church regularly and other Christian events. These people have helped me learn more about God, and His Word the bible, how to talk with God that is prayer and help me to do the changes in my life I choose to do in order to love God more and more.

Today I can say that I have found the one who fills all my needs, wants and desires, and that is not my husband, he does try, but the one who successfully fills all those things, in his timing, is God. "