Cold Springs High School’s Hollyn Bruer is preparing to start her junior year in August, and in this interview, she discussed her faith, her battle with epilepsy and how much God helped her get through that difficult time in her life.
“He has changed my life tremendously. Most people don’t know this, but two years ago, I was diagnosed with epilepsy in August, and I didn’t know how to handle it. Everything wasn’t making sense. I was like, why me? Why did I have to have seizures occasionally? Then I remembered, ‘Everything happens for a reason’. He has a plan for me, but I put my faith in Jesus and let Him take care of everything. Yes, this set me out of sports, and it was hard, but I kept my faith. When being diagnosed, I was unable to get my learner’s permit, so I had to wait six months after my last seizure to get my permit, but I prayed and prayed, not only to get my permit, but to be grateful for every day. After that, I went seizure-free. Without God, I would be lost and lonely. I pray before every game or track meet to thank God for Him letting me play and do the things I love so much,” Bruer said. “I learned that I have an amazing community behind me. It was a very scary moment in my life. I didn’t like that everyone was looking at me in the gym, but I had fellow fans in the stands that came down to help me. My pastor came down there, and I remember him praying over me. Hearing him pray made me realize that God works miracles. He has most definitely worked them for me, and I felt very blessed to be okay.”
Hollyn shared a couple of her favorite Bible verses, and she wants to play a part in helping other people find God.
“Philippians 4:13 is a big one for me: ‘I can do all this through Him who gives me strength’. Another one is Isaiah 41:10: ‘Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand’. Isaiah 41:10 is written on the side of my basketball and volleyball shoes, so I can look at it and remember that God will handle this,” Bruer said. “It is very important to me that kids, adults, and teens know and understand God. I want everyone to have eternal life with Him. I help out at my small church, Ryan’s Creek Baptist Church, with the kids, and I was a part of Vacation Bible School. Me and my sister, Ella, we do the music and the dances. Most of the time, kids will ask us questions about Jesus, and it’s always good to hear, because they want to know and want to understand. I love telling them all about Him and telling people my story and how He’s worked miracles for me.”
Hollyn’s mission field is in her sports right now. She was a part of a youth group that shared the gospel with other people and being a Godly role model for younger kids and sharing the Word with them is so important to her.
“I think my mission field for now is in my sports. I have the opportunity to take Jesus into every gym that I play in. Isn’t that cool? I was part of a youth group that got to share the gospel with other people who probably didn’t know who He is,” she said. “It is important, because if I stayed selfish, kept to myself, and didn’t go out and share the Word, I would be hurting God. He wants us to share His Word so He will have more of us in heaven. I have a T-Shirt that says, ‘Make heaven crowded’, and I love it so much. I believe I have impacted people with my story. I hope the people that I have spoken to have been building a relationship with Jesus.”
She talked about her Godly role models in her life, and shared some of her favorite traditions that she has for sports and at school.
“My mom is a huge one, and she always makes me feel better when I have a problem. If I’m upset about something, she tells me to focus on Jesus, and He will guide me through the toughest times. My dad is another big one. He helps teach our youth group, and he makes a huge impact on our group with his story,” she said. “My team prays before every game in a group, and we thank God for allowing us to play, and we pray for no injuries, but we can’t control injuries. He can. At school, I pray before I eat lunch. I thank God for giving me food to eat to keep me healthy.”
Hollyn shared some advice with anyone that wants a relationship with God but might be struggling when it comes to doing that.
“I would love to sit and have a conversation with them and talk about what exactly is holding them back or what is making them struggle. I think most importantly is for them to let God all the way into their heart. I struggle sometimes with holding grudges with people, but that’s me pushing Jesus out. I need to have grace for them and forgive them like Jesus has forgiven us and given us grace for our mistakes. I think that’s the biggest thing: forgiveness and grace to others. We want to hold grudges and stay mad at one another for someone doing us wrong when we have done wrong. We expect Jesus to just give us grace without apology or accepting what we have done wrongfully to others,” she said. “What I’ve learned during my journey so far is to never lose faith and never take your eyes off Jesus. Never let distractions get in the way of your relationship with God.”
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