HOLLY POND, Ala. — Holly Pond’s Ryli Norris will be a junior in August, and in this interview, she talked about the role that God has played in her life, starting with a couple of her favorite Bible verses.
“God has played a huge role in my life and has completely changed me for the better. I love to just make people smile and just try to be like Jesus in my everyday life, because He is so good to me. I want others to see how much He can change them as well,” Norris said. “One of my favorite Bible verses is Jeremiah 29:11: ‘For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future’. It reminds me that God already has a plan. Even when it feels like everything is going wrong, it reminds me that He has good plans for my life. I also like Psalms 91:7: ‘A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you’. This verse reminds me that God protects me, and even when life may get hard, He protects us.”
Ryli wants to help people of all ages find God and being a role model for kids is at the top of her list.
“I think it’s really important to help people find God, whether it’s children or adults. I serve in my church’s kids’ ministry on Sunday, and I just love getting to do small groups with the kids and connect with them. I also attended New Hope #2 Student Camp, and for Outreach, we handed out gospel tracks to people at Wal-Mart. There are a lot of people who didn’t really know God and telling them about it and helping them find God just makes me happy,” Norris said. “It’s very important for me to be a Godly role model that kids can look up to. I always hope to lead others to Jesus.”
Ryli talked about an event she helps with that has made a huge impact on people’s lives and mentioned some of her own Godly role models that she feels blessed to have in her life.
“I serve at my youth’s Kid Fest, which makes a big impact on a lot of people’s lives,” Norris said. “My Godly role models are the old youth pastors, Steve and Angie Patrick, and the pastors at New Hope, Austin and Erin Rowell. Steve and Angie mean a lot to me, because they have led the youth for so long, just pouring their hearts out to every single kid, and they are an inspiration to me to try to be like that. As for Austin and Erin, I stayed at their house for church camp, and they really just helped me grow my faith. They put so much into this camp and these kids. I strive to be like them.”
She shared some advice for people who are wanting a relationship with God but might be new to the experience. She talked about a life-changing experience that happened to her that has helped her get closer to God as well.
“My advice would be to make sure you’re in a friend group that will hold you accountable, and to put all of their faith in God, and not let anyone come between that,” she said. “A life-changing experience that happened to me came back in November of 2023. I got diagnosed with Type One Diabetes and for me, that really changed my life. I was wondering, why me, and why would God allow this to happen to me? I was also struggling with anxiety, but God has shown me that He gave me Type One Diabetes for a reason, and to cast all of my anxiety onto Him, because He cares for me.”
Ryli shared a Godly ritual that she does before and after school and talked about what she has learned during her journey so far.
“I pray and read the Bible,” she said. “What I’ve learned the most during my journey so far is to just trust God. He always has a plan for your life, and His timing is everything.”
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