Zoe’s Story
One Step Forward at a Time: Zoe’s Story of Finding Her Way Back to God
Faith doesn't always feel like a straight line.
For Zoe, growing up in a Christian family meant that she knew about God from an early age. She had loving parents, went to church, participated in youth groups, and understood what it meant to live a Christian life.
But knowing about God wasn't the same as fully trusting Him.
There came a season when Zoe began questioning whether God really wanted what was best for her. Her family was facing difficult circumstances, and she couldn't understand why those things were happening if they were faithfully following God.
She became angry with Him.
And little by little, she began putting God to the side.
Trying to Fill Herself With Everything Else
Toward the end of high school, Zoe began looking for validation in other places.
Sports. Academics. Friendships. Accomplishments.
She became focused on performing well and proving herself. She learned how to fill herself with things that made her feel successful and valuable.
When she went to college, that pattern continued.
She was still going to church and attending youth groups. From the outside, it probably looked like she still had a relationship with God.
But in her heart, she was keeping Him at a distance.
She wanted God there when she needed Him, but she was still trying to control the rest of her life herself.
That struggle eventually became much darker. She battled an eating disorder and body-image issues while pushing herself harder and harder physically. Swimming, running, working out, lifting—she was constantly trying to become better and earn the love and approval she desperately wanted.
Eventually, her struggles progressed into self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
She had become so consumed with how she saw herself that she had forgotten how God saw her.
As college continued, life became even more difficult.
She struggled with work, school, anxiety, family problems, temptation, and addictions. Instead of drawing closer to God, she found herself drifting further away.
Then she met her boyfriend.
He became an important part of her story—not because he could fix everything, but because he continually encouraged her to draw closer to God.
When anxiety attacks became overwhelming and she felt like she couldn't handle everything happening around her, he would tell her something that was incredibly difficult for her to understand:
“Just give it to God. Put it in His hands.”
Her response was essentially, What does that even mean?
God couldn't go to school and earn her degree for her. He couldn't simply pay her bills. There were things she still had to do.
But she was slowly beginning to understand that trusting God didn't mean doing nothing.
It meant realizing she didn't have to carry everything alone.
“Why Would God Want Me?”
Then her church announced an upcoming mission trip.
At first, she didn't think she belonged on it.
She didn't feel good enough. She didn't feel spiritually qualified. She wondered why God would want her to travel to another country to serve people when she couldn't even get her own life together.
But she couldn't shake the feeling that God was calling her to go.
Week after week, that tug remained.
Eventually, she decided:
I'm going to go. I'm just going to see what God has for me.
And somehow, everything came together.
It was a God-given opportunity.
“It Wasn't About Me”
During that mission trip, God began changing her perspective.
She realized that the trip wasn't about her.
God humbled her and convicted her about things happening in her own life. But one of the most powerful moments came toward the end of the week.
During a service for the youth group, members of her church were invited to pray with the kids.
Zoe went forward, unsure if anyone would even come to her for prayer.
Then two young girls approached her.
They asked her to pray for things they were struggling with.
And as she prayed for them, something changed in her.
These girls were on the other side of the world, yet they struggled with some of the same things she had been struggling with.
God was softening her heart.
And in that moment, she felt Him reminding her:
Keep moving toward Me.
God Was Waiting at the Door
For years, Zoe had believed that she needed to get herself together before she could truly return to God.
But she began to realize something different.
God hadn't abandoned her.
He hadn't stopped pursuing her.
He had been there all along.
She describes it as God standing at the door, knocking throughout all those years—waiting for her to turn back toward Him.
And the message she heard wasn't, Fix everything first.
It was simply:
Take one step forward at a time.
That realization changed the way she viewed her relationship with God.
She didn't have to figure out her entire future.
She didn't have to become perfect.
She didn't have to solve every problem before trusting Him.
She just needed to keep walking toward Him.
One Step at a Time
Zoe’s story is a reminder that faith can sometimes look like a single step.
Maybe you're struggling to trust God because of circumstances you don't understand.
Maybe you've been trying to find your worth in accomplishments, relationships, appearance, work, or the approval of others.
Maybe you're overwhelmed because you've been trying to carry everything yourself.
Or maybe you feel like you've wandered too far away from God to come back.
But God is not asking you to figure everything out today.
Take one step.
Keep moving toward Him.
Keep trusting Him.
As Zoe says, God has a perfect timing and a perfect plan. Sometimes we just have to be willing to take the next step.
Stories at the Crossroads
Stories at the Crossroads shares real stories of how God is changing lives through the Crossroads community.
Every story looks different. Every journey has its own struggles, questions, and turning points. But each one points back to the same truth: God is still at work.
If you feel far from God today, remember Zoe’s story.
You don't have to have everything figured out.
You don't have to fix your entire life before you come to Him.
Just take the next step.