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 Michelle's childhood in church was very inconsistent. Her grandmother attended Catholic mass every week, while her grandfather stayed home. Her mother periodically took her to functions at the Catholic Church while her step-father stayed home. She spend most of her younger years with no true understanding of who God was. That finally changed when she was in high school. Her uncle used to take her to a small non-denominational church. Michelle was shy and used to sit in the back. She saw people "fall over" and dance and heard speaking in tongues. Although she was not uncomfortable in any way, she did not understand it. It was sitting in the back of that church that God tugged at Michelle. She prayed a prayer along with the pastor and asked God into her life. This is when her curiosity began to grow. Her uncle began introducing her to members of the church and she began attending the youth group functions. She learned a lot from all the lessons and retreats, but she always felt that something was missing. That Spirit she felt on and saw on Sundays was rarely spoken about or seen in the youth meetings. She felt that it was something reserved for the adults. She felt her "fire" start to fade. At this time, she searched for it in the Catholic church, but it wasn't there either.
She left for college at age 17 and this is where she started to realize that she was "different". She started socializing with lesbians and realized that she fit in pretty good with them. She remembered what she was taught about homosexuality and knew that she could not be herself and still be in church. The next eight years were a big blur with long periods of partying. She states, "I can honestly say I was not addicted to the drugs or alcohol, But it just seemed like that was what I was supposed to do int he gay scene." She had no relationship with her mother. She had lost several people very close to her, including her 11 month old god-daughter. She felt more lost than ever.
In 2006, Michelle decided to stop partying and get her life together. I was feeling a tug to go back tot he church again. She thought, "But how could I? I'm gay. I'm not allowed." She felt God telling me to go home and everything would be OK. "He would take care of me."
Shortly after meeting her spouse, she started researching "gay" and "church" online, in her area. A new world opened up to her when she realized that she might be able to be both. Michelle searched through the watered-down beliefs until she found a Christian church that would accept her for who she was. After attending a Sunday service, she knew this was the place for her. Again, she learned a lot, and felt closer to God than she had since the beginning of her time at her first church. People loved her. She learned how to listen to God and watched as the blessings came. Even when things were tough, she was still able to praise God.
A change in leadership of the church began stirring a familiar feeling of a fading spirit. That is when she began to pray about what step to take next. God answered that prayer with Shine Ministries. If a place to worship and experience God did not exist, God would help create it. Shine is a church on fire who wants to bring a world of God's love to all.
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