Linda Hiles
When asked about her Faith this is what Linda Hiles had to say:
When were you first introduced to God?
As a young child I remember visiting neighboring Vacation Bible Schools in our local church with a friend. It was during an arts & craft project that the VBS teacher asked me if I had met Jesus yet. I was probably eleven years old at the time.
Did you continue going to that church?
No. I fellow-shipped with friends and periodically visited their churches, but I never really became a member of one church until later in life. My family didn't participate in a church home of their own, but God continued leading me closer to him through my neighbors and my friends.
When did you first accept Jesus as your Lord?
When I was about twenty-six years old, my husband Russell, my two daughters, Tamera and Jessica, and I lived in an apartment complex in Fresno, California. It was there in my bedroom all alone, separated from the world's influence that I met God for the very first time.
Did you participate in your own church then?
My husband bought me my very first Bible at that time and I started studying with Jehovah's Witnesses out of ignorance. But God taught me that if I remain teachable, I could learn from anyone or anything. So we started visiting a Lutheran church mainly because my husband had grown up in the Lutheran denominational background and he didn't want me to sit under the teachings of the Jehovahs.
Where is your faith now? What denomination?
I am a firm believer that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. I have participated in several different denominations, stemming from Lutheran, Assemblies of God, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, as well as the Jehovahs. And I have come to the conclusion that Jesus Christ Our Lord is my denomination. If his Spirit teaches me, then it is truth.
Has faith always been easy for you?
No. I have just as much freedom to worry and doubt as the next person. However, I am very quick to catch myself when I do fall and I immediately run to God and lean on him for a refreshing of Spirit.
Has your faith changed through the years?
Yes, most definitely. I have learned that faith comes from within -- something we just know in our hearts based on the time we have spent learning it. If we lack, it's because we have not learned it yet, or worse, perhaps we have not spent much time in the Word of God.
Do you have any suggestions for new Christians?
Yes. Rest all your worry on God. He knows what your next move is and why you should take it. He will lead you if you let him. If you find yourself falling back into worry, remind yourself that God knows your path. And if you really trust in God, he will help you make it there as quickly as possible without harm. But . . . you must trust in God.
Do not lean on what you know -- lean on what God knows!
The Interview
All photography by Linda Hiles
Linda Hiles
Jacksonville, FL 32210
Many blessings . . .