The Monica O’Keefe Story

My Mom & Dad divorced when I was six years old.  My Dad reenlisted in the Navy; and my Mom, who understood little English, was left to raise two children by herself.  We were fortunate to move next door to a married Christian couple who had a heart for us and took us to Richfield Road Baptist Church.  This was a happy time in our lives.  But, when the pastor left, so did we.  I believe my heart was tender, I wanted to do right, but I do not think I was saved.

Like most teenagers, popularity and friends became my first priority.  When I was sixteen, my Dad moved back into our lives permanently.  My Dad had remarried and was now going to church.  In 1998, while attending church with my Dad, I trusted Christ as my Savior and was baptized.

However, time passed, friends became more important than going to church, my Dad and I stopped talking, and I began to do whatever I wanted with no accountability.  My sin started to catch up with me.  Social drinking led to experimenting with drugs and an immoral lifestyle.  I found myself doing things I would never do, and I began to reap all the wrong I had sown.  I would never be innocent again, and nothing could change that.  I got pregnant and set out to have an abortion.  At seven weeks along, all I could think about was this baby growing inside of me.  Without telling my mom about my sleepless nights, the Lord allowed her to come into my room the night before the appointment.  She let me know that she supported me, and I chose to keep the baby.

Although the father of my baby wanted no responsibility, I was determined to be a good mom.  My friends continued to party, and my time alone showed me that I had no true friends.  But my friends had such a strong hold on me!  New Years Eve 2004, I walked home from a party drunk on a dark street, crying out, “I have no friends!”  I felt alone and very helpless.  The next morning I received a phone call from a young missionary lady that I had met five months prior to my daughters birth.  She invited me to church, and that Sunday I got assurance of my salvation.  I knew for sure that God loved me, and that I had been forgiven.  A true friend I found in Him!

My Dad became the RU director at our church, and I began to get involved.  God began to work in my heart so I could focus on others.  I was happy and decided to surrender my life to Him.  Shortly after, I moved out of my Dad’s house and into my own place; I thought I would get closer to the Lord as I trusted Him with my financial needs and everything else.  But, instead, the everyday pressures of life made me more frustrated.  I slowly began to skip church, and I was reading my Bible less.  Although I was telling others about Christ where I worked and thought I was doing good, I did not realize I was doing it in my own power.  God had to show me, once again, that I was not in control.

I joined my Dad at a conference where Brother Curington was speaking.  Hearing the term “self-righteous” as he spoke, I realized that described me.  A week later, I was in the Women’s School of Discipleship Home in Rockford, Illinois.

I came here because I needed structure in my life.  I am thankful for what the Lord is doing in my life here at Reformers Unanimous.  All my life, I have never had balance.  Coming to RU is teaching me that I need to be more disciplined when it comes to having a schedule and sticking to it.  God is showing me that He has to come “first” before I go on with the rest of my day.  My journal helps me to be organized and to not miss anything as I communicate with the Lord.  It is truly a blessing to be able to go back and to see what God has done and is doing.

I look forward to chapel each and every day.  The Lord always has something powerful for us as He uses the leadership here to bring us fresh bread.  These messages have helped me to be prepared for the adversity ahead.  Since I have been here, God has allowed me to deal with many different people.  Being able to learn about the Lord with my sisters is so important.  We are learning to see when the devil is working and have sweet fellowship with each other instead of remaining angry or bitter.  I have learned that none of us are perfect, and God is using all of us with our different personalities so He can stretch and mold us into His image.  Being here at RU has definitely taught me that I have wasted a lot of time.  Instead of trying to surrender my life, I need to surrender each and every day.  It is then that I see how weak I am, and how strong He can be in my place.  “My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart”    I do not want to do the work in my life any longer; I want God to do His work through me as He shows me new things.  It’s all for Him!

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