Carole Lewis found a way to change that.

She knows how much change, good or not so good, can come in a year. Over the course of one year a life can be completely changed. For Lewis, there have been many years that brought about abrupt change.

In 1997, her husband Johnny was diagnosed with stage-four prostate cancer and given a year and a half to live.

Not liking the short-term continuous hormone therapy suggested by local doctors, they travelled to a specialist in California for chemotherapy treatments which sounded more promising. Now Johnny is about to start his third round of chemo and the couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in June.

“The last 12 years, since he’s had cancer, have without a doubt been the sweetest years we’ve had. It’s because we don’t take one second for granted any longer,” Lewis explains.
The Lewis family faced tragedy on Thanksgiving Day in 2001.

“Our daughter Shari was killed by a drunk driver. Who would have thought we’d lose a child before Johnny died of cancer? It brought us such awareness that life is precious,” she says.

With all that she’s experienced, Lewis has come away with many life lessons. “When Shari was killed, I realized the power of thankfulness,” she says.

“I began to write down everything I was thankful for. I thanked God for whatever I could in the middle of what we were going through.

Not all of her years of change have been about trials. Some have been the starting point for much bigger and better things.
Lewis had been struggling with losing the same 20 pounds since she was 13-years-old. She tried every fad diet on the market, but she always fell back to her habit of finding comfort in food.

It was a determination not to be “fat and 40” that inspired Lewis to join up with 11 other individuals in 1980 to begin their own 12 week weight-loss program: First Place 4 Health. Their program was a little different than others though. It focused on the principle of putting God first in their lives and praying for guidance and balance.

Over 12,000 North American churches later, Lewis realized God was the key to change. “God has shown me that whatever I have need of He can provide it and will provide it,” she says. Continuing to encourage others to examine their lives, Lewis noted the principles of First Place went much further than just weight loss.

“It has to be that we’re interested in a true lifestyle change,” she explains. “It’s impossible to make real lifestyle changes in 12 weeks … we asked them to give us a year.” In the midst of supporting others, however, Lewis found the need for change in her own life. “I felt God speak to my heart and say, ‘Why don’t you give Me a year and see what I could do in your life?’ ” she explains. “Well, it’s a lot easier for me to encourage you to give God a year than for me to actually do it myself.”

On Aug. 23, 2008, Lewis made the commitment to give God a year of her life – to pray and to obey when she felt His guidance. “He showed me there are small, simple changes each one of us could make that would make our lives better a year from now.”

The year didn’t go as Lewis had envisioned it, however. It started out stormy – in fact the largest storm ever observed in the Atlantic basin. “Hurricane Ike hit three weeks after I began my year with God and destroyed our home, took all of our furniture, everything we owned into Galveston Bay,” she recalls.

In her recently released book, Give God a Year, Change Your Life Forever (Regal Publishing), Lewis outlines her journey over the past year. She explains how God is waiting to give people a new start on life when they ask Him to be a part of their lives and commit to pray and obey His guidance.

Lewis found during the year when she did this, she could see the changes happening in her life, from remembering to moisturize her face before bed to learning to trust more in God. When her year was up, Lewis immediately vowed to do another. She hopes that this is the year others will make the greatest change possible and begin a relationship with Jesus, inviting Him into their lives.

“God specializes in situations that seem impossible,” she explains. She has seen God work in her own life and the lives of others to heal fractured marriages, relationships with children, financial problems, and health issues.

“God is waiting for us to invite Him in. God knows our folly and wants to change us from the inside out, but we must first recognize that we have a problem and ask for help,” she says. “God never gives up. The new you – filled to the brim with balanced and healthy emotions, mind, and body – is a miracle waiting to happen through the power of Jesus Christ.”

photo courtesy Carole Lewis