Amazing Education Opportunity

CLI’s Amazing Education Opportunity

My name is Sandy Bullard, and I am thankful for this amazing education opportunity at CLI. I am an only child and grew up on a dairy/grain farm in upstate New York. I had both of my parents growing up. They enrolled me in Christian education classes every Monday. As early as five years old, I remember having a spiritual experience. Then, I knew that God was real. I had a little book of prayers that I read in my room, and I always liked the way it made me feel calm and happy. I remember my parents dropping me off at church when I was old enough to go alone.

Our family had many struggles and many dysfunctional times. It caused anger and rebellion in me that manifested in my teens. God kept me safe despite my foolishness. For that I am grateful. I experienced many difficult times and painful events that made a lasting impression on my heart. Having never fully understood the Bible, I only had read snippets and the church didn’t make much sense to me. I never had a personal relationship with God. I didn’t know that I could. Therefore, I made my decisions in life without including God or even asking for His guidance.

Mistakes and God’s Grace

I married a man I only knew for three days. On the honeymoon, I knew I had made a huge mistake, but I had “made my bed.” I moved to Germany to be with him. As a result, things continued to spiral downward. One day, I heard a knock on the door of my apartment. When I went to answer it, a woman with a kind face was standing there smiling at me. I had two babies who were both napping. She asked if she could come in. She was a Jehovah’s Witness, but before I could even consider that, I asked her in.

The most remarkable thing happened. She asked me to get my Bible out, and we both read the Bible together. She answered my questions and never once tried to persuade me to be a part of her religion. To this day, I feel blessed by her visit. She reconnected me to God. I started to read the Bible and pray again. God can use any method available to bring us back to Him when we get lost. I would like to say that life was great after that. However, prayer didn’t continue when we relocated back to the United States. I still didn’t know the value of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Soon, I filled a position at our church to teach young girls. I learned about Jesus, read the Bible to prepare for the classes, and started praying. Therefore, a personal relationship began between God and me. Then, my marriage failed. We divorced. Years of brokenness and healing followed. God was faithful and stuck with me through it all. I met a man a few years later, and we married. I call him my gift from God. Together we are growing in the Lord day by day.

Direction Through CLI’s Amazing Education Opportunity

Most recently, out of the blue, God asked me to close my business. I was in the middle of my contract, so we negotiated the fee. As soon as I moved all my office to my home, my mother, who lived with us, fell and needed most of my time for many months. God knew. I had a God moment that day!

Ever since then, I have been leaning into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with Jesus. I was looking for a way to be used by Him in my new community. We relocated to a new home. He guided my steps, and I found the Christian Leaders Institute. At first, when I started studies online, I had no idea what God was directing me to. It has been a couple of months now. Some exciting things are coming into focus with this amazing education opportunity.

I volunteered at a soup kitchen in town once a week. This activity led me to a Community Support Shoppe run by a Pastor from my new church. I volunteered one day a week at the shop. The Pastor said just learned that someone was going to be leaving when I called. So, it turned into two days a week. This week the Pastor said that if I would be interested, she would mentor me into a special position in the shop. I would be able to do what she does there. Another God moment!

God’s Work and Blessings

I am excited to see God work in my life. I have kept progressing with my studies and hope to be an Ordained Minister first. Then, I plan to go on to get a degree at the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School. I am retired, and I really appreciate having a free program. This education is needed for me to bring others to God through Jesus. I feel much more confident, and I love the way the program is set up. Thank you all so much for this amazing education opportunity!

Learn about ordination opportunities at Christian Leaders Alliance.