From Skeptic to Faith: A Doctor’s Journey to Jesus

For years I trusted science, achievement, and my own ability to solve problems. I never imagined that a medical mission trip to Guatemala would begin a journey that would change not only my faith, but my understanding of medicine, purpose, and hope.

I Wasn’t Looking for God

I didn’t grow up thinking much about Christianity. When people tried to talk to me about faith, I simply wasn’t interested. I wasn’t hostile toward Christians—I just assumed Christianity was something like a self-help program. It didn’t seem relevant to the life I was building.

By that point I had been practising family medicine in Huntsville for about ten years. My husband and I had two young children. Life was busy, meaningful, and, by most measures, good.

Yet beneath the surface something wasn’t right.

I had placed enormous expectations on myself—trying to be the best physician I could be, serving on committees, taking call, and carrying my share of responsibility within our medical community. Eventually I reached a point where I felt I simply couldn’t run any faster.

“I was like a gerbil on a wheel and not getting anywhere.”

One afternoon, as I prepared to begin another weekend on call, I looked out our kitchen window and found myself asking a question that surprised me:

“Is this all there is to life?”

That question became the beginning of everything.

An Invitation I Didn’t Expect

Almost immediately afterward, a Christian physician colleague invited me to join a medical mission trip to Guatemala.

My hand shot up.

Not because I was interested in Christianity—I wasn’t—but because I loved medicine, wanted to help people, and wanted to step off the gerbil wheel to find my way again. Before leaving, everyone on the team was asked to read the Gospel of John. I didn’t even own a Bible, but I found one, read it, and honestly thought very little about it.

Looking back, I now realize God was preparing my heart long before I recognized His work.

God Met Me in Guatemala

The greatest surprise wasn’t the poverty or the medical work.

It was the people.

I watched physicians care for patients with extraordinary compassion. I heard stories of answered prayer and miracles. I became fascinated—not because someone was trying to convince me, but because I was witnessing something I couldn’t explain.

“I started to be curious about prayer. I didn’t even know what it looked like to pray for someone… I was curious to understand more this group of people that I had the privilege of peeking into this world of faith.”

Today I can describe what I couldn’t understand then.

The Holy Spirit was gently drawing me toward Himself.

The Prayer That Changed Everything

On the final evening of the trip, our team gathered together. A candle was passed from person to person, and each of us was asked to share what had impacted us most.

When it came to my turn, I couldn’t speak.

I simply cried.

Later that night, lying in my bunk bed, I prayed one of the simplest and most honest prayers I’ve ever prayed.

“God, if this is true, if Jesus really did die and was resurrected, help me to believe.”

I knew the resurrection was the pivotal question. If Jesus truly rose from the dead, everything changed.

Faith Didn’t Replace Questions

Returning home didn’t mean I stopped thinking critically.

Quite the opposite.

I researched the historical evidence for the resurrection. I read. I asked questions. I wanted to know whether what I had experienced could stand up to careful investigation.

“I still came home and I researched the resurrection… I still did my due diligence.”

But something had already shifted.

Not simply in my thinking.

In my heart.

“Something shifted in my spirit, and I have had a hunger and thirst for God that has never ceased.”

More than twenty years later, I remain deeply grateful that God didn’t leave me where I was. He pursued me patiently, surrounded me with people who reflected His goodness, and invited me into a relationship that has transformed every part of my life.

Seeing Medicine Through New Eyes

Becoming a Christian didn’t diminish my love for science.

If anything, it deepened it.

People sometimes assume science and faith are in conflict. That has never been my experience.

“As a believer and as a scientist, I kept finding confirmation in the Word of God for the scientific discoveries and understanding.”

My faith also changed how I viewed people.

Although I had long understood embryology and knew that every human being has a unique DNA blueprint from the moment of conception, it took personal encounters to deepen my appreciation for the inherent value and dignity of every human life. One young woman with Down syndrome and the love surrounding her family became a turning point in helping me see the immeasurable value and dignity of every human life.

That realization eventually led me into pregnancy care ministry—not simply because of the unborn child, but because I wanted to understand and respond to the pressures women and families face.

As I often say, an unexpected pregnancy is rarely just about the pregnancy. It may involve unstable relationships, financial insecurity, housing concerns, or fear. If we truly value human dignity, we must also ask how we can help relieve the pressures surrounding that life.

Looking Back

I could never have imagined where that simple prayer, “God, help me to believe,” would eventually lead.

Yet God has a remarkable way of meeting us where we are.

My journey wasn’t the result of having every question answered before I believed.

It began when I became willing to ask an honest question.

“Is this all there is to life?”

That question eventually led me to another:

“God, if this is true… help me to believe.”

Looking back, I’m grateful that God wasn’t waiting for perfect faith. He simply invited me to take the next step, and He faithfully met me there.

Watch the Full Interview

This article is adapted from my conversation with Deeply Rooted. If you’d like to hear the story in my own words, you can watch the full interview below.