My Brave Story- Sydney Asay — In the Wild+Wonder

Sydney Asay is mom to Kasen (4), Kymber (2) and wife to PRCA bullrider, Kanin Asay. They call Wyoming home but travel all over the US on the rodeo road. Sydney has the most infectious smile and you will automatically want to call her a friend after you meet her. For so many of us who grew up going to church, we thought we were good with God, that is until you get wrecked with His true love and you realize that just "going to church" doesn't make you a Christian and most of all you're missing out on a life that will be greater than what you could ever imagine. Sydney can tell you this firsthand. Here's her Brave Story!

Standing on the shore...

I was raised going to church my whole life...and I thought that was about all there was to faith, going to church and believing in God. I would pray, usually at night, when I remembered. I'd say the same repetitious prayers, like the Lord's Prayer and a few others I learned as a child. I didn't have a deep relationship with Jesus where I spoke to Him like a friend, spilling out my heart and asking for His guidance. Looking back, I am grateful that I was raised in church because it instilled good values in me and my family's lives. My family and I are all very close and my parents did a great job raising us three girls, but I feel like when it came to our faith, we were missing out on several things and didn't know the extent of what kind of relationship and life that God called us into. We just didn't know better or any different. I grew up in a very religious church. I am not one to bash churches and different denominations, but I never experienced God's presence, peace, voice and guidance until I met my husband Kanin. I went to church because I knew it was the right thing and I wanted to go to heaven someday, not because I wanted to. To be honest I thought church was pretty boring and I was usually zoned out the whole time thinking about something else. When I met Kanin, he was different from anybody I knew and had the kind of relationship with God that I had never seen before. You could tell from the way that he talked and lived that he truly loved God. It was the same with his parents, especially his mom. After spending some time with them I learned a lot. I learned how to get close to Jesus and the kind of relationship that it entails. Christianity in my eyes went from following a set of rules and rituals to get you into heaven, to having a deep relationship with Jesus. I can't tell you the exact date I stepped out in my faith, but it was truly a process of learning how to listen to God and deciding that I wanted to follow Him whole heartedly.

He calls my name...

I would say God got ahold of me through a gentle nudging. I was already a believer, just not a very bold one and missing out on some important things. I was in the middle of listening right away and putting it off, because it was uncomfortable and challenging to change certain things in my life.

Stepping out into the waves...

The first step in stepping out in my faith, was deciding to get baptized as an adult. I was "baptized" as a child (which I now view as dedication). I knew it was an important decision in my walk with Jesus. The biggest and most challenging decision I have made as a born again Christian was deciding to dedicate, not "baptize" our children. I can't even begin to explain how big of an uproar this caused among a few of our family members. There were tears, hurt feelings, scripture quoting and debating that caused a drift. Our youngest is now two and a half and I am still hearing about how she and our son need to be baptized as children, so if something were to happen to them they would get into heaven. Anyways, we made our choice and we do whatwe believe is right for our kids.

Don't look back...

As I mentioned earlier, I grew up in a very religious church and when I quit going to that denomination of church and started going to a nondenominational church, you would have thought I joined a cult. It's hard to have people that you love be disappointed in your choices and to not understand. I didn't want to hurt anybody with my decisions in faith, but at the end of the day I just had to do what the Lord put on my heart and that's all I can do.

Reaching for His hand...

Looking back I have learned that everybody views the Bible and God's Word different. Life isn't all about trying to please everybody around you, but striving to please God in all aspects of life. I have also learned that just because you are a Christian, God is not always going to give you everything you think you need in your life, no matter how hard you pray. Bad things happening in your life are inevitable, but God will make beauty out of the ashes and work all things out for the good of those who love Him.

Take hold...

It's so important to trust God in every aspect of your life and cling to Him. I have yet to hear of one person who's life turned out exactly how they expected. Life is a roller coaster (especially being married to a bull rider) and I can't imagine making it through without a rock to lean on.