“I wasn’t looking for God, but He was looking for me.” Susanne Cox watched her parents become destroyed by alcohol, anger and a home filled with abuse. By the time Susanne was 13 years old, she was already in her first drug treatment center and a full-blown alcoholic. By the time she was 23, she was a cocaine addict whose life had spiraled out of control.
“I didn’t know God had a plan for my life. I had never heard of the born-again experience or that He had died on the cross to save me. I needed a Savior, but I didn’t know where to find one. I was 31 years old and saw a sign on the way home from work that said, ‘camp meeting.’ I knew I had to be at that church. I drove down and sat in the parking lot of the Assemblies of God church. I saw all these people coming in with suits and ties and dresses, and I had on a low-cut blouse and skin-tight jeans. I was depressed and suicidal and thought, This is just another place that I don’t belong. I could be in a room full of people and never feel like I fit in anywhere. I was about to drive away, until it was like a hand pushed me out of the car.
“I wasn’t looking for God, but He was looking for me. Dr. Mark Rutland shared his testimony that night on the love of God. He looked across the audience and said, ‘You might be here tonight and wish you had never been born.’ And I thought, That is me. I hated who I had become. I was full of anger, bitterness and rejection and tried to kill myself several times. He said, ‘You can be born again.’ He gave the altar call. I ran to the front and I knelt down and said, ‘God if this is real, I want it. But I don’t have anything to offer You but a broken heart and a broken life.’ And God said, “‘Susanne, that’s all I want. Give me your heart tonight.’ I gave my heart to Jesus, and I have never lost the wonder of my salvation. It was life-changing, life-altering and I will never be the same.”
Now Susanne is an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God, founder of Legacy of Purpose and served as a missionary in Southern Asia before marrying Pastor Ron Cox of Kingwood Church in Alabama. Susanne serves on the Speaker Bureau for Project Rescue and partners with their mission to rescue and restore victims of sexual exploitation through the love and power of God. Her riveting story will encourage you to see that God brings beauty for ashes.
To learn more about Susanne Cox and her impactful story, visit her online at legacy of purpose.com or on Facebook and Instagram @susanne_cox.
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Abby Trivett 
Stephen Strang