Summary

SummaryI’m Marra, and for most of my life I believed Jesus was nothing more than a human-made construct to control people. My husband and I had moved from Mexico to Eugene, Oregon, and co-owned Crux Rock Climbing Gym. When our neighbor invited us to church in Mexico, I was adamantly opposedβ€”church, to me, meant judgment and criticism. But for my husband’s sake, we went. As I sat there, partly zoning out because the sermon was in Spanish, I felt a sudden, undeniable voice: β€œWill you receive my Son?” In that moment, I realized Jesus was real and knew God had to be goodβ€”yet I clung to my independent lifestyle. I thought we weren’t doing anything wrong, but I sensed everything I’d known as love, truth, joy, and fun was only a shallow shadow of what God could offer. God’s mercy and grace didn’t slam the door in my face but filled my heart with impressions of His love, calling me to say β€œyes” to Jesus. πŸ™β€οΈβœ¨

How Marra’s wanderlust lead her to Mexico and a discovery about God.

“No part of me thought that Jesus was real, or that he had ever lived. Then I realized everything I had experienced as love, truth, and joy, was just a shadow of what I could have if I said ‘yes’ to Jesus.”

Learn more about Marra’s story at www.overflowhope.org

#OverflowHope #EugeneOregon #tracktownusa

Full Transcript
He was a construct of man in order to control men and I didn’t want any part of that. Hi my name is Marra. We’re at Crux Rock Climbing Gym. My husband and I bought the gym three or four years ago. We moved from Mexico with our two young children to Eugene 12 years ago. Our lives were very full with lots of moving before Eugene and to be in one place for this long now has been a huge blessing. When we moved to Mexico our neighbor invited us to go to church and I just looked at my husband like oh heck no.

He, we were both not big fans of church, church community, the what we thought of as judgments and criticisms that went along with it but he really wanted to get to know this neighbor and he let me know that we were going to church. So we went and we really enjoyed the community and the people. They were really nice and they were different than what we had experienced and what we expected and there was just something about them that drew us to desire to have friendships and connections in that community. As I was sitting in this church service with the preacher speaking in Spanish, which I only understood bits of at this point in time, I was just kind of zoned out and in a moment God spoke to me and I almost fell out of my chair when he said to me, will you receive my son?

No part of me thought that Jesus was real or had ever lived or any of it. I thought he was a construct of man in order to control men and I didn’t want any part of that.

When God said that to me I knew He was real and I knew he must be good because God is good but I was not willing to leave my lifestyle that I was in which I mean we weren’t doing anything I think that most people would see a problem with but it was definitely living for ourselves

and I said to God okay like you know my deathbed God hearing my my thoughts or heart behind that in his mercy and grace didn’t just slam a door in my face at that moment which is what I would have done to somebody if I’d offered them a gift and they were like well instead he put all these impressions in my heart and they were just I don’t know how to describe them they’re just I just knew somehow that everything that I had experienced as love as truth as wonder as goodness fun you know I don’t know if I would have explained it as goodness wonder but fun and joy and love was all just a shadow a shallow bit of what I could receive if I said yes.

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Overflow Hope
Local stories. Real hope in the Central Lane County community. These are the stories of people in the greater Eugene and Springfield, Oregon community who have experienced Jesus Christ change their lives. Their stories prove Christianity is more than religion and that it's possible to change your life. There is hope when you are hopeless, lack purpose or motivation, struggling with anxiety and depression, or just know there has to be more than life than this. We hope these stories show you that Jesus is alive, loving and willing to meet anyone who cries out to Him.
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