GOD brought us together 33 years ago when we were just seventeen. We were young and not sure where our life was going. We made so many mistakes and did so many things the hard way. We both loved GOD and we both believed that GOD brought us together. We knew from very early on that GOD had his hand on us but we continued making mistakes. One of the biggest mistakes we made was getting married by a Judge instead of a priest. We could both feel something missing, it just didn’t feel right. At the time, we were not putting GOD first and we felt empty inside. We had our son and in good Catholic tradition, we wanted him baptized. That’s when it hit us. How could we have our son baptized when we weren’t even married in the church. We weren’t even going to Mass.
We both knew that we had to change our life and do the right thing. We needed to get married in church and start going to Mass. We were married here at St. Martha’s in 1994 at a communal wedding service. It was a small ceremony and the church seemed empty. There was no fuss made over this ceremony, in fact few family members came. But it was a perfect day and our marriage was blessed by GOD. What a difference that made in our lives.
I’d like to tell you that everything changed for the better after that day but it wasn’t easy. We were both still very young and we struggled in marriage and struggled in life. Through it all GOD was right there waiting for us with open arms. His love for us was apparent and it was real. GOD knew that our journey was going to lead to him. What a patient, loving GOD we have.
Thank God that we were both raised in Catholic families and grew up going to Mass on Sundays. We wanted our son to know GOD and trust him with everything in his life. Going to church on Sundays made a huge difference in our lives. GOD was changing us and it was amazing!
Now here we are 28 years later serving GOD in the Life Teen Ministry along with our beautiful daughter. GOD blessed us with her ten years after our son was born. Both of our children were baptized, made their first communion and were confirmed at St. Martha’s. We are blessed to be Catechist and have been working with the Life Teen Ministry for quite some time. That was what GOD had planned from the very beginning. All along, we knew GOD was there watching over us and all along God knew we would serve him in this way. So why if GOD had a plan for us did we make all of these mistakes and why does it take longer for some people than others to turn to CHRIST. GOD is patient, kind, loving and understanding. He gave us choices and he lets us learn from our mistakes. We have definitely learned from all the mistakes that we have made.
God has a plan for all of us but we need to seek him. A good start is going to church and reading the bible. You will be amazed at what GOD will do in your lives if you open your heart to him. We shared our story because we know what it feels like to make mistakes and feel unworthy. We also know what it is like to turn it around and trust GOD with everything. We have a GOD who loves us, who is good to us. When we make mistakes, he is right there waiting and wanting to help us. I want to encourage you to go to Mass and seek the Lord in all you do. You never know maybe one day you will be a Catechist or a Host family working with our youth at St. Martha’s.
God Bless
Chris and Jullianna Solis
Thank you Jullianna and Chris for sharing your gifts and talents to our Youth Ministry and to our church. Thank you for sharing your life! We do have a merciful, loving and powerful God that can change a heart of stone to a heart that beats, loves and longs for holiness. Just echoing what Archbishop Jose Gomez said: “We need to show what holiness looks like to our young people.” He has a PERFECT PLAN for all of us!
Beautiful family! God bless you all!