By REY FLORES
Part 2
This week we continue with Kurt Filla’s journey from darkness into life. . . .
“Over and over and over it filled my head like a broken record.
“I looked up at the clock and it was around 1:10 in the afternoon. My life would never be the same. I don’t remember any more words that were spoken but do recall that the tears kept coming for a long time. Maybe we sat in silence as I piled the table with tissues. Eventually I would make it back to my dorm room, the words of Scripture still in my head and heart. I remember that as I walked back it did not feel as if I was walking but rather floating, floating on a cloud.
“That feeling would be with me for months, that feeling of my feet not really touching the ground but rather walking in the Spirit, as if the Spirit were walking for me. I felt lighter than air.
“The first thing I did when I returned to my dorm room was open Scripture. A friend of mine in high school, Molly, had given it to me and I opened it with a new excitement. And rather than starting with Genesis, as Nancy encouraged me to, I would start with the Acts of the Apostles. But first, I opened the inner cover and read a note that my friend had written to me my sophomore year in high school when she gave me this Bible. She wrote a beautiful note that ended with this:
“ ‘Kurt, always remember that you are a new creation in Christ, the old is gone and the new has come.’
“There it was. Confirmation of the words I just received in a vision — of literally receiving a new body. I had watched the old body disappear and saw the new body being put together by the Spirit. I was shaking, crying again and I began to devour Scripture like a hungry lion.
“The second thing I did was to tell my girlfriend we couldn’t continue be physical anymore. This was hard but I knew God was calling me to chastity and living a pure life for Him. I finally understood that the pain I felt in my life was a result of sin and His love is so great that He calls us out of sin so that we may have abundant life and JOY!
“A few days later I left college in Bloomington, Ill., and moved to Champaign Urbana to start a new life with my girlfriend and our unborn baby. I had no money, my car broke down on the way, I had no job, no school, no Christian friends there, nothing but the word of God in my hands, the Word of God planted in my soul, and the Holy Spirit alive in my heart, carrying me. He had to carry me because, after a few weeks in Champaign, my girlfriend broke up with me and told me the baby wasn’t mine, that she had been sleeping around and wanted nothing to do with me. In fact, I would never see her again. I wrote her often and called, but silence was her only reply. Moving on was a very painful experience but the Lord was there to support me.
“There I was, all alone, abandoned by everyone in my life except for Jesus. It was then, in Champaign Urbana, that I first began to experience life in the Spirit, to really be alive and to understand what it meant to be a child of God. It was an amazing journey to wholeness, and I would never be the same. Thankfully, our merciful God helped me reconcile with my parents within a few short months. Once they saw consistent changes in my life, they forgave me, and God healed our relationship and made it whole.
“Champaign would become my new home and I would start a new chapter in my life — a chapter filled with many blessings and new beginnings. One of the most amazing blessings would be meeting my wife Anneleisa and starting our family together. In fact, looking back, I see God’s hand in every step. He never failed me and never let me go.
“It was in these springtime years of my youth that I became passionate about food, family, fellowship, and fun healthy living (not in that order though — well, maybe). I loved to cook from an early age and found it therapeutic for me as a way to create and then my gifts with others. As my wife and I started out and the kids began to come, family and the support of a vibrant Christian community became anchors for me as grew in my spiritual life. Without these two anchors, family and Christian fellowship, I would be truly lost in this world.”
So, there you have it. Kurt Filla is one man among many of God’s creations, but not many of us get to share our story aside from those around us. Kurt’s story is not over yet. Many people can still benefit from his existence, particularly pro-life organizations who need his skills, experience, and talent to be able to continue their ministries in helping men and women, especially their unborn babies, to enjoy the gift of life God has given every single one of us.
If you run a pro-life organization which is interested in finding new ways to reach women in crisis pregnancies, or donors who can help support your pro-life work and ministries, I strongly encourage you to visit Kurt’s website at www.fillalifemedia.com.
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(Rey Flores writes opinion and book and movie reviews for The Wanderer. Contact Rey at reyfloresusa@gmail.com.)
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