On Tuesday, February 12, CUAA's Career Engagement and Industry Relations hosted a Red Dress Event, appropriately themed for heart health awareness month and around the time of Valentine's Day.
Women of all ages gathered together on campus, spending an evening with Christian blogger and author, Krista Soroka, who shared her personal story along with her take on the importance of having a relationship with Christ.
What is peace? Where can we find it? Is it at the spa? Going on vacation? Being financially successful? Achieving awards? Gaining respect from our peers?
Soroka once believed peace could be found in these things. The world tells us that is where peace is found. However, through her own experiences, Soroka found that this was not the case once she prioritized her relationship with God.
Soroka shared about her four year battle with anxiety attacks and the ways that God moved in her and was able to reassure her through a single verse that she had memorized, Isaiah 26:3: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (ESV). God wanted to rid her of her fear and all she needed to do was put her trust in Him, follow Him, and go wherever He led. She needed to be intentional about the time she spent with God. Separate time had to be made to spend in worship and prayer everyday in order to be continually filled with the inner joy and peace that she had longed for for years.
It was not a single moment where her life was completely changed, rather a work God was doing in her life over time. This relationship with God is still something she works on today and encourages every person to work on as well, no matter how strong their faith is. Just because she is passionate about sharing the Gospel with others does not mean the world is any easier to live in. There are still challenges that we all face on a daily basis. That does not mean that we have to give into the world’s temptation because what the world gives to us to ease our pain and stress is only temporary and self-serving.
God brings peace. We cannot bring ourselves peace regardless of what the world says. Once we accept Jesus into our lives, which Soroka repeats is “the most important decision you can make”, we are able to be more like Him. His love, joy, and peace is what makes us whole.
These words of encouragement are not new to me. However, hearing them from a new perspective made me reconsider my own relationship I have with Christ and what I can do to make it better. I found this night of food, fellowship and devotion to be rejuvenating and reassuring. My main takeaway: no matter how much stress I am under, I ultimately have the assurance that I am His and Christ died for me. That’s the source of true peace.
— This story is written by Allie Milot, social media manager for Concordia University Wisconsin and Ann Arbor. She may be reached at alexandria.milot@cuaa.edu or 734-995-7403.
If this story has inspired you, why not explore how you can help further Concordia's mission through giving.