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Multnomah student finds joy in her salvation

Multnomah Bible College sophomore Lori Graville accepted Christ on Tuesday, Feb. 2. after weeks of doubting her salvation and struggling with loneliness. Graville said she lived a life of pleasing others. "I realized that all the decisions I had ever made were to please other people," Graville said. "Mission trips and Christian service--I wasn't doing them for God but for other people, and I realized that even included salvation."

At 5 years old, Graville made a commitment to serve and follow Christ. Graville said, "I believe as a child my decision for God was very sincere, but I did it for the wrong reasons. I had a mental consent, but my whole person wasn't willing to follow God. I've always been a people-pleasing type person, swayed by the emotion of the time."

Graville said she felt incomplete growing up and that her life was missing something. "It was the relationship that I missed. I didn't have that father-to-daughter relationship with God," Graville said. "I've watched all of these people with a relationship with God that I've never had. And I've wondered, 'How can they be so close to God?' because I've never been."

The evening before her conversion was a night of struggle and inner conflict for Graville. "I was at the bottom of the barrel, almost ready to commit suicide. It was just awful," Graville said. She said she had been believing lies that she did not belong to God--that her salvation was artificial. The next morning, after an appointment with an adviser, Graville made the decision to set her life right before the Lord. She went for a quiet walk to be alone with God, allowing the Lord into her heart.

After accepting Christ, she rushed to share her excitement with her former roommate, sophomore Carolyn Olson. "The biggest change I saw when she first told me was that a lot of fear was gone, and she's not as concerned with making people happy as she used to be. I'm excited for her," Olson said.

Graville had also been discussing salvation issues with her resident assistant, junior Jeana Todd. "There's quite a noticeable change in Lori," Todd said. Graville's current roommate, junior Sarah Robbins, said, "I can tell there's a change in Graville's life by the tone of her voice and by the look in her eyes. She's so happy."

Second Corinthians 5:17 has been an outstanding encouragement to Graville in her search for value and self-worth. Graville said, "The day I became a Christian, that memory verse popped into my head. Now I have something to celebrate. I'm a new creation."

Graville also finds reassurance from the song, "Come On In" by Christian songwriter Twila Paris. The song addresses the issues of separation and exclusion, feelings Graville often felt concerning the world around her, including her relationship with God. Graville grew up believing that God was a distant being who never bothered to know her. Graville says she is "a very visual person that needs to see it to believe it." She needed to see the joy and peace in the lives around her.

"When I came here, everyone, especially the professors and the different people I got to know, were living the Christian life," Graville said. Graville was brought up in a Conservative Baptist church and attends Montavilla Baptist Church in Portland.

In the past, Graville has participated in overseas ministry. In 1996, Graville traveled to Hungary with AWANA Clubs International. And in 1998, Graville visited the Fiji Islands with AWANA Clubs International. Graville said she desires the adventure and excitement of missionary work. She is majoring in Bible and theology and intercultural studies, and is minoring in Greek and women's ministry. She hopes to work toward a master's degree or a doctorate in linguistics. Graville is interested in teaching Greek and possibly forming a new English translation of the Bible. Graville says she would enjoy translating the Bible into other languages in the future, possibly with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Graville also has a heart for Catholic European countries. Graville says that she can relate more to them because, much like those nations, she knew the truth, yet was blinded and separated from it.

Graville said she hopes to accomplish what Philippians 3:8-9 states: "...I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord...and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ.

"It's a joy knowing I'm not alone, that I have someone to go through the problems with," Graville said. "My Daddy is right beside me holding me in His arms, through hard times and joys."

Jeff Shane has a terrible habit of laughing consistently.



For many years, Lori Graville has enjoyed helping lead in AWANA Clubs International. Whe has traveled all over the world with AWANA.

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