37 Years of Transformation
/I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. – Galatians 2:20 NIV
I was overwhelmed with the love and transformational power of Jesus Christ when I was Colorado Springs at the end of January for the Restored Hope Network board retreat. I arrived a day before the meetings to see some of the beautiful scenery in the area. The presence of the Lord was with me in a tender way as I drove through the sandstone mountains. My first trip to Colorado was in the summer of 1984. I was twenty-three years old and very far from Jesus; struggling with bulimia and bound by homosexuality. It was during that trip that a friend told me how much Jesus loved me and how much I needed Him. I dedicated my life to Jesus a few days after we returned from Colorado and things have never been the same since. I had no idea what life in Christ would be like. Some struggles like bulimia fell away instantly. Others, like homosexuality, lingered.
Although looking relatively clean on the outside, I continued to wrestle with obsessive homosexual thoughts. As much as I tried to fight my unwanted same-sex attractions in my own power, I couldn’t find victory. After battling for over fifteen years, I finally came to the end of myself in 1999. I had no more strength left for the fight. I was finally honest with God and told Him that everything I had tried to do to fix myself didn’t work. I surrendered to Him. I gave Him permission to do whatever He wanted to do to change me. He did. And He is.
Dan Hitz and Tom Cole, circa 2003.