God's Footprints in Personal Lives: Trusting God's Plan for Love & Life with Rebecca Stockwell
May 09, 2024
Renee Richel
Embark on a journey of discovery with Rebecca Stockwell, a beacon of hope whose faith uplifts and inspires. Rebecca draws us into her transformative experiences, including a pivotal moment on Buck Bald Mountain that reshaped her perspective on life and love. Her story isn't just about embracing faith; it's about the daily commitment to walk the path of righteousness—navigating the highs and lows with unwavering trust in God. As you listen, you'll witness how her high school trials solidified her resolve to lead a life steeped in divine wisdom, offering an invigorating reminder of how faith can infuse our lives with joy and purpose.
In the realm of love, Rebecca's insights on the role of shared faith with a partner serve as a cornerstone for understanding true connection. Reflecting on her name's significance and the blessings of being called Rebecca, she delves into the heart's journey—acknowledging past relationships, their lessons, and her current phase of entrusting her romantic path to God's hands. The conversation promises a blend of personal stories, revelations of divine grace, and a glimpse into Rebecca's future aspirations. Join us as we celebrate the extraordinary impact that faith can have on life's tapestry and how it paves the way for future blessings and plans.
Embark on a journey of discovery with Rebecca Stockwell, a beacon of hope whose faith uplifts and inspires. Rebecca draws us into her transformative experiences, including a pivotal moment on Buck Bald Mountain that reshaped her perspective on life and love. Her story isn't just about embracing faith; it's about the daily commitment to walk the path of righteousness—navigating the highs and lows with unwavering trust in God. As you listen, you'll witness how her high school trials solidified her resolve to lead a life steeped in divine wisdom, offering an invigorating reminder of how faith can infuse our lives with joy and purpose.
In the realm of love, Rebecca's insights on the role of shared faith with a partner serve as a cornerstone for understanding true connection. Reflecting on her name's significance and the blessings of being called Rebecca, she delves into the heart's journey—acknowledging past relationships, their lessons, and her current phase of entrusting her romantic path to God's hands. The conversation promises a blend of personal stories, revelations of divine grace, and a glimpse into Rebecca's future aspirations. Join us as we celebrate the extraordinary impact that faith can have on life's tapestry and how it paves the way for future blessings and plans.
Hi, I'm Renee Richel, the founder and president of One True Match. I'm here to help you find and cultivate the love of your life. For over a decade, I've dedicated my life to the importance, purpose and dynamic of human relationships. My team and I are disciplined by faith, love and integrity to help our clients find the quality relationship they've always dreamt of. Each week, I will be sharing the tools and tips I've learned that have rooted my success as a matchmaker with other leaders around the world. Hello, loves, welcome back.
Renee Richel:
I'm so excited for this next episode of God's Footprints in People's Lives to introduce our next guest, who has such an incredible story of the day she met the Lord and just her journey that we're going to share today and get in, of course, a little bit of relationships, because that's what we're here to do for everybody. So welcome, and I'm so excited to have Rebecca Stockwell here. Hi, and we hear about you all the time, of course, from your father, who's a big part and firm believer in what we do and all things relationship and love and this is his beautiful daughter who is doing wonderful things and watching you grow from even just the last couple of years and do mission trips and things like that before. I am so excited for you to share your story and all that God has done in your life. So we're going to begin with a few questions, and the first one I want you to obviously tell everybody is a little bit about you and who you are?
Becca Stockwell:
Yes, okay, so my name is Becca. You and who you are? Yes, okay, so my name is Becca. I'm 20 years old. I'll be 21 in October, let's see. I go to Samford University. I'm studying business management, and then I'll concentrate in nonprofit work in hopes of eventually one day opening a nonprofit homeless organization. I love the Lord, I love Africa.
Renee Richel:
I love it. There's so many great things that the world needs from your calling. So that's just a blessing right there in its own, that all of the passion that you have behind everything too. And so tell me your testimony of the day you first met the Lord.
Becca Stockwell:
Wow. Okay. So how I met the Lord, I feel like for me it was less of like a specific moment and kind of just like more him working through other people, like throughout my whole life, even to this day. I remember I started going to church. I started going to youth group Wednesday night youth group at Crosswater Church One of my neighbors invited me and at first I was like, oh, there's free pizza, like let's go play games. And I was like, oh, I'm so down for that, like of course. And so I started going to that and then eventually started asking my dad to take me to the Sunday service and so we started going together to that.
Becca Stockwell:
Then, just over time, my sister started coming, my mom started coming to church, I went to, and when I actually met the Lord, I remember I was sitting on Buckbald Mountain in Tennessee Crazy place to be, but I was at church camp for the summer at Camp Loving Stones, which I last summer recently went and like volunteered with them again, which was like completely full circle moment. But I was sitting on the mountain with one of my mentors at the time Her name is Rachel and she was just explaining everything to me and it was just the first time that I actually got it, I understood, like what Jesus did for me and what that meant like moving forward, and that I just like completely started my life to the Lord.
Renee Richel:
Then and how old were you?
Becca Stockwell:
I was in middle school at that time, probably like sixth, seventh grade, okay, but obviously like I was still in middle school and so, as, like, life went on. I mean it is a walk with the Lord. It's not like you're saved one day and life is perfect forever. It's a walk with the Lord and a continuous choosing every day to follow the Lord and pick up your cross daily. And so high school came around. Just a lot was going on.
Becca Stockwell:
I just I didn't fall away from the Lord, but starting to live more for myself than I was for the Lord. And so senior year got broken up with, lost a lot of my friends which we can get into later, all of the breakups and stuff, but lost a lot of my friends. And that's when I just like, completely was just me and the Lord. And that's when I was like, okay, god, like this is it, like it's just me and you like I don't need anything else. And so I gave my life to Christ in middle school, but completely, 100% was like Lord, it's just me, and you was probably high school.
Renee Richel:
And were you? Do you remember the location you were at or like the time of day it was that you, just like, surrendered everything to?
Becca Stockwell:
him. I mean, I would say I fully surrendered to the Lord on that mountain. That's like when I feel like I was saved and finally like understood everything, and obviously it's just like a walk, but I feel like I like not rededicated my life, but just like finally understood not finally understood. I would say I just a re-evaluation of like life and how I was living and how I should have been living. I was I don't remember exactly I was, I just remember being in the house I live in now in my bedroom and just like, wow, god, like life is not as good as it is when it's with you. And so it was just a reevaluation of like how I could have been living and how I was, and just switching that around.
Renee Richel:
That's awesome. I love it. It's just such a magical moment for any of our audience viewers out there that have never obviously had that deep connection with the Lord that a lot of people will say, like how do you have so much like energy and excitement every day? And I'm like because the Lord fills up my tank every day, right? So?
Becca Stockwell:
for anybody out there.
Renee Richel:
That's obviously seeking that deeper relationship like just like you had a curiosity in surrounding yourself around those type of individuals for the Lord to work through them and in them to you, yeah, it was a big step of it, so that's really cool.
Becca Stockwell:
It's also just like so important to realize it is like an individual walk with the Lord and it's so easy to compare like my walk with the Lord to other people's walks with the Lord. Walk with the Lord, and it's so easy to compare like my walk with the Lord to other people's walks with the Lord and it's like, oh, I'm not as far along as them or like I'm a better Christian because I am reading my Bible every day. And it's like it's an individual walk with the Lord and it's so important not to compare that with other people's walks because he's working differently in all of our lives Right, and obviously what we're going to talk about pretty soon is your mission and what you're doing.
Renee Richel:
But tell me how today you're continuously you know spreading the word to others and you know bringing people to hopefully that heavenly bond, that you have right of love for him, like how or what are ways you're doing things Well.
Becca Stockwell:
I go to a Christian private university called Samford in Alabama, and so I feel like life in America, a Christian university, is a lot different than like how I was walking with the Lord when I was overseas the past year, and I feel like it's so easy.
Becca Stockwell:
Especially going to a Christian university, I feel like people just automatically want to assume everyone's a Christian and to just like get comfortable in their faith because it's like, oh, I go to a Christian university.
Becca Stockwell:
I feel like it's so easy for people to just like coast and not a lot of people just aren't on fire for the Lord, which just wasn't what I was used to compared to like living overseas, and so I feel like it's a daily like, like I said, a daily surrender. It's a daily like, Lord, you wake up and it's Lord, set my mind on your will and what you want for me today, Getting in the word daily, which is so much easier to say than it is to actually do, especially when, just like in college, life is so busy Every minute is planned, final season and just trying to just get everything done in the day and it's so easy to just not read your Bible and you get to the end of the day and it's like, oh my goodness, like I still haven't read my Bible. I feel like it's so important to just start the day with that and just set 15, 30 minutes an hour just aside and just get in the word and be praying daily.
Renee Richel:
Which is such a good routine, because at the end of the day, the days get busy, you know, at the end, so starting your day off when it's like quiet and simple and not stressful, and setting that intention for the day is huge, which is so much easier to say.
Becca Stockwell:
I mean, I had two roommates this past year, which is we're all waking up at different times and going to sleep at different times, so it's a lot easier to say like I'm going to get up every day and read my Bible, but I think it is so important to do.
Renee Richel:
Yeah, yeah, that's awesome, I love it. And so tell me, let's share with everybody, going back to your when you were overseas a little bit, what's happened in your world. That's really gotten you to where you are in God's footprint that he's putting in your life today.
Becca Stockwell:
Yeah, I mean living overseas is nothing like I could have imagined. For those of you that don't know, I went on the World Race, which is a nine-month gap year program. I went to Guatemala, romania, hungary, east Watini and South Africa and so I mean I feel like you can't be prepared. I mean I'd never been on a mission trip before and I was like, well, go big or go home. And so I went big, like well, go big or go home.
Becca Stockwell:
And so I went big and it's just absolutely like crazy how the Lord can just radically change your life overseas and just finally like tasting and seeing the Lord's faithfulness and seeing actual poverty and the way these people are living, and especially Africa.
Becca Stockwell:
I mean these people have nothing like living in huts, living off like dirty water and kids eating grasshoppers as their like food for the day, and seeing how people live and just how like faithful their faith is, so, so, so admirable because they have nothing. I always say they have nothing, yet they have everything, and it's so true. And just sitting, seeing the simple way that they live and the joy of the lord, like I've never seen anyone more joyful than the people in africa. And they are the people that like have like the most impoverished people that I have seen overseas and it's just insane to see how they live. And, um the lord just completely want to open my eyes to the world and his people and and it's not just America, which is a lot easier to obviously see when you're not living in America but he just completely wrecked my heart for the nations and for his people overseas specifically. Yeah, I would live in Africa full term if I could.
Renee Richel:
Yeah, I would love to, and so tell everybody about what the Lord is now putting your heart to do.
Becca Stockwell:
Yeah, so this summer I won't be gone for nine months again, I'll be only gone for a month, but I'll be going to Zambia, africa, which is like central Southern Africa, which last time I was in South Africa, and East Watini, which borders South Africa, so I'll be in Zambia. Tini, which borders South Africa, so I'll be in Zambia, which half of the time I'll be in the city, lusaka, which is pretty like populated and I wouldn't say modern, but it's not living like I was in the bush. I lived in a tent, in cold water, bucket shops, I mean, you even shaved.
Renee Richel:
She shaved her head even at one point. I did shave my head at one point.
Becca Stockwell:
That's a whole other story, but I did shave my head at one point Makes it easier to get ready.
Becca Stockwell:
It did, but that was just a complete different story about obedience to the Lord. Yeah, and then the other half I'll be in the bush of Africa, like walking to the villages, the unreached villages, and just spreading the gospel. And I think it's so cool how the Lord can change our hearts, because before the world race I'd never been on missions, I didn't even know what that looked like. I was very how do you say, like very, just like nails done, hair done, makeup done every day, like very.
Renee Richel:
Living the American life right.
Becca Stockwell:
Yes, exactly. And then I went overseas and I was a completely different person, which wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for the Lord. So it's just so cool that he can completely change. I mean, it was his plan all along, but my plans for the future? Nothing of this was in there. So I think it's so cool.
Renee Richel:
I love it and I'm so beyond proud of you. And if nobody has ever heard of the World Race before and wants to either consider doing something like this or even just like, for you know, kids, I don't mean to say you're not, you're obviously a young adult now right, you're a lady, but for even just getting involved at a younger age to you know, to keep thinking outside the box, of doing different things over the summer.
Renee Richel:
I'm so proud of you. It took such courage and strength and obviously trust in the Lord that he would lead you through all of that, which I just think is my hat goes off to you and just the world race and all that they're doing to just continue to inspire other incredible Christian people to be leaders and out there you know doing all the work that you do, so I love that. So here's a fun question. Okay, and if you're interested in supporting I also feel like Rebecca and what she's doing, donations are encouraged.
Renee Richel:
Because she still has to come up with the financial support to go on this beautiful trip. So I will definitely put some of those details in the notes as well, and to just support other kids that are going through this. It's a really cool opportunity too. So fun question would you change your name that you were given?
Becca Stockwell:
My name? Yes, that's an interesting question. I don't think so. I mean my full name, Rebecca. My friends call me Becca anyway, so it's like it's still my name but it's shortened. I don't know if I would change my name just because I mean I like my name, but I think it would always be cool to have, like I think with guy names is so cool like a girl named Bobby, like B-O-B-B-I or like I don't know. I think that's cool, I think that'd be. If I could, I would change it to like a cool boy name and then why would you want to change it?
Becca Stockwell:
just because you've always liked that kind of uh oh, I don't think I would change my name, but but if I did it would be like a cool boy name. I don't know, I don't think I would want to, though I'm happy with Becca Okay there we go.
Renee Richel:
Everybody's answering it differently, so we're kind of asking it across the board. And then, how has God? We talked a little bit about it and I want to dive a little bit deeper how has God, in the relationship you have with him, affected your love life since we're in the relationship business? We've got to ask this question too.
Becca Stockwell:
I knew it was coming. Let's see. I mean, when you have the love of God.
Becca Stockwell:
I mean God is love, and so once you have a relationship with the Lord and you see what true love looks like, I mean it says he was our first love, and just like seeing that I think human love just is like so much farther down and you're like nothing could compare to the love of God. Obviously, and I think, as I meet more people, specifically men, that love the Lord, I think it's like just like seeing how they love the Lord is inspiring, for like how I love the Lord, I mean I just like one don't think I could ever date anyone that's not a Christian, just because they don't understand love. I mean God is love and they don't know the Lord, so they don't know love, and so which is a big claim to make, well, and they say no, but they say you know, obviously, obviously love the Lord more than anything else so that you can feel love right.
Renee Richel:
Yes, and so that is I mean people that don't have that same value or mindset to love the Lord first, then your mate, then your family, then everything else. Because there's other people that prioritize like I was having a conversation with somebody earlier about they prioritize work first or their children first, right, and it's just. The order is a little bit off whack when it comes to, obviously, the way that we should feel love constantly. So I have to ask are you dating anybody right now?
Becca Stockwell:
I am not. I am not.
Renee Richel:
I know you were in a little bit of a relationship before you went to Africa, before I was, I was.
Becca Stockwell:
So that was beginning senior year. Well, junior to senior, I was dating this boy and we dated for like a year. Junior to senior I was dating this boy. We dated for like a year. I loved him. I mean, we dated for a while and then just our paths went separate.
Renee Richel:
I was going overseas for nine months, he was going to college, and I mean he did say, quote unquote I don't love you anymore and that is why we broke up, which is okay. That was so so long ago. He was saving you for the next person that is meant to be your wife.
Becca Stockwell:
And that was about two years ago and since then I haven't been on a date, I haven't talked to a boy. I've been very much just like me and the Lord, and I think it's a very dangerous but very safe prayer. To pray at the same time is, lord, like, remove all distractions when it's from you, like you'll put it in my life and until then, just like me and you, and once you pray, I mean he will answer that prayer every single time, yes, and I mean whenever there is a boy that I'm like, maybe him, lord, if it's your will, then let it be done and if not, then remove him.
Renee Richel:
And every single time so far he's gone. That's right. Well, and I always say the Lord wants to hear from you and pray with intention, but also think about the clarity of the things that the Lord knows you need and want and ask him who that person is, down to the specifics of like.
Renee Richel:
Just you know they have to love the Lord and kind of like start praying prayerfully for your future mate, that God, like you said, will present you at the right time, which is a big, big step. So well, we're going to have to have you back on. I am going to do a follow-up series for everybody that I'm interviewing right now doing this. That is single.
Becca Stockwell:
Yes, for when either?
Renee Richel:
it's an introduction through us, or it's an introduction just in the Lord's timing to come back on and talk about that incredible love that God does have planned for you, and I can't wait to also hear about your journey and tell everybody how they can. Actually, we'll have this in the notes. Follow you during this trip, right. Because, you have a newsletter.
Becca Stockwell:
I do the newsletter I've just been sending out through email, so if I have people's emails, I can include them in that. I'll probably be posting it all on Facebook as well and Instagram and just keeping people up to date through social media.
Renee Richel:
And then how do people get in touch with you? Like if they want to call me and text me yeah, donate, or be a part of this, or just hear.
Becca Stockwell:
I have a donation link Okay, financial support link, perfect, other than that, like Venmo's, and then I can just transfer into the account. If you want to like, contact me while I'm overseas, I should have service.
Renee Richel:
But it's not. You're so cute, I don't know if I will. Well, through email of some sort too, we'll put all of that information in the notes as well, and when I can respond, I'll be responding Right. Well, we can't wait to witness and watch you go on this next mission and what day do you leave again?
Becca Stockwell:
I leave in 19 days, so I leave May 27th.
Renee Richel:
Oh my gosh, and you come back for well in 30 days from then. Then obviously end of June right. Oh my gosh. Well, we cannot wait. I am so blessed and honored to have you sitting here in the studio with me, and I can't wait to have you back on to hear all about everything that God has continued to do in your footprint, that he has planned for you.
Becca Stockwell:
Well, thanks for having me here.
Renee Richel:
It's been a blast Of course we are going to love and leave you and can't wait for our next podcast. We're obviously going to continue to interview these incredible people that God is leaving footprints in their lives to share with everybody as positive things are happening, and we hope to obviously continue to do this and bring you back on with more updates. We're going to love and leave you and hope you have a blessed day. It's been another great talk on this episode of one true talks by renee rochelle. I look forward to our next chat. Please write in your questions and comments so I can be sure to talk about whatever it is you want to discuss in our next upcoming episode. Lots of love, god bless. Xoxo.