“I am created for His kingdom and purpose. I want to fulfill what I was created for.” That was Connie Holloway’s firm belief and determination. Little did she know where that would take her.
Four years ago, Connie was in a marriage that ended in a head-on collision. A believer in Christ, she carries no anger toward her former husband. He’s a brother in Christ, she says, and she means it. She has seen her share of hurts, but Connie is the second-happiest person I have ever known. I’ve about decided that Molly Brown would have nothing on her. Connie’s unsinkable. She has that crazy idea that abundant life is available here and now – not just when we die. What a concept.
One of Connie’s major breakthroughs happened a couple of years ago. “We were in worship, singing ‘Enough,’ and God asked me, ‘Am I more than enough for you?’”
“Yes!” she said with joy.
On that day, Connie was set free from believing that a relationship with a man could heal her. She learned – not just in her head, but in her heart – that our completeness is in Him, not in a marriage or the things she thought she needed in a spouse.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. Connie was enjoying a movie with Kaylee, her daughter. The credits were rolling, and Connie saw someone’s name and thought how beautiful it was. There she was seized with a thought: It’s time for a new name. For four years she’d carried a stranger’s name, and it was time for a change.
She mentioned it to Kaylee, who just seemed to get it. Kaylee always seems to get her mother. So there they stood – credits still running – and they started having fun, practicing new names based on the running list.
But how do you pick your own new name? What would you do if you had that kind of freedom?
The nations will see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory;
And you will be called by a new name
Which the mouth of the Lord will designate.
You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
And a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
It will no longer be said to you, ” Forsaken,”
Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”;
But you will be called, “My delight is in her,”
And your land, “Married”;
For the Lord delights in you,
And to Him your land will be married.
Isaiah 62:2-5
A few days later, Connie had taken Kaylee home – back to her old house in her old town. She felt restless there. Her ex-husband is involved in a new relationship; Connie knew it was time to make a completely clean break with the past.
“And God,” she said, “I need that new last name.”
As she drove back home, this prayer still drifting off her lips, instantly the name appeared in her mind:
DeCristo.
“Oh, I love it!” Connie said. “Sounds good!” She liked the musical, Italian-sounding flavor of it. She had never seen it, researched it, or analyzed it. The name literally popped into her head.
But the more she thought about the name and what it meant, the more excited she became.
De – “of.”
Cristo – “Christ”
She had been given His identity. Now she was taking His name. Connie honked her horn and shouted with joy all the way home.
A day later, she began the process of legally changing her name. She needed some money, which she “coincidentally” had received at just the right time. A week later (try that in your town), paperwork complete, she was before a judge and the deal was done. Connie Holloway was Connie Darlene DeCristo.
“I have never felt more married in all my life,” she says. More loved. More cared for. “And He even gave me His name. He is my Beloved, and I am His!”
Connie is very protective of her relationship with her Beloved. “Any other man in my life would have to perfectly fit my life, identity, and calling. I want to share how God has taken me from a place of thinking I have to have a man to be complete.”
Connie says that in every worship service, “there’s at least one song where I can feel Him come to me and we dance. It’s the ballroom, and we’re doing our wedding dance.”
Connie works at our church, along with her friend Deann, to prepare the building for each Sunday. She looks at it as being a hostess of God’s banqueting table.
“I’m the lady of the house,” she says with tears of joy, “preparing for His guests.”
GPW
“God’s Perfect Will” – GPW – is Connie’s constant prayer. It’s also the name of her new ministry.
A couple of years ago, she noticed how frequently someone from a local school or university (we live in a major college town) would put window decals on their vehicles to publicly, boldly declare their allegiance. “Why not do that for Jesus?” she thought. In the last two years, as she has waited for God’s perfect timing, she worked with a manufacturer and designer, and had a series of 14 different decals designed that focus simply, elegantly, on the person of Jesus Christ.
Connie’s dream – to blanket the nation with rolling witnesses to the simple message of Jesus Christ.
Her delivery system – your church or group. She wants to make it possible for GPW Ministries to assist church groups and other nonprofits raise money by selling the decals. It’s a win-win. They get to generate some income, and the buyer gets a way to simply and clearly proclaim the name that is above every name.
I think she can do it. If you’re interested in your church or group helping, email me or leave a comment below.
With a name like DeCristo, I think she, and her dreams, are in pretty good hands.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hello Andy,
I am Connie DeCristo’s mother and want you to know how perfectly you captured who Connie truly is in this article. We are so proud of her and her ability to be able to overcomewith God’s help, the many adversities she has faced in her life; thereby growing and growing in her spiritual quest. It’ll be interesting to see what God does with her GPW Ministry with your backing.
Thank you so much for doing this for her and for being such a wonderful influence in her life these past four years. We hope to get to attend worship there one of these days–we live in New Mexico.
In His Love, Jean & Therman Gray
Jean – Thank you for your kind encouragement. I, too, am excited to see what God can do in a life and through a vision like Connie’s. I look forward to the day we can meet!
Connie, this is one of the most beautiful stories I have read in a long time. What a blessing you are to share this! Fran
I love it! You go girl. And, thanks Andy for an inspiring post.
Claudias last blog post..Decadent Day