One Late Night Prayer That Brought Her Back to Jesus Christ

Have you ever felt too far away to pray? Sister Rubio knows that feeling. She grew up in a Mexican Catholic family in San Antonio, Texas, the youngest of six and the only child her parents did not get around to baptizing. In this episode of Choosing Jesus Christ, Elder Avalos sits down with Sister Rubio, a missionary serving in the Idaho Falls Idaho Mission, to hear how Heavenly Father reached her family, waited through her years away, and welcomed her home. Her story includes a knock on the door, a father's overnight change, and the late night prayer that started her road back.

A Knock on the Door in San Antonio

One evening, when Sister Rubio was 12, two missionaries knocked on her family's door. Her mom wanted to let them in, but the elders explained they could not enter without her husband home. At that exact moment, her dad pulled into the driveway and invited them inside.

Her dad had a history with the Church the girls were about to discover. He was baptized at 12 in Michoacán, Mexico, where the closest chapel sat three hours away by car. He loved being a member and wanted to serve a mission. Then his family immigrated to the United States, and over time, he went inactive and picked up habits he knew he should leave behind. When the elders sat at his table years later, his daughter could see the peace return to his eyes.

The family let the missionaries come back. Sister Rubio hesitated when the elders invited her to be baptized, and her dad did not pressure her. He told her to keep praying to know if this was something Heavenly Father wanted for her and to keep reading the Book of Mormon. Every prayer came back a yes. When she accepted, she asked her dad to perform the baptism. He quit drinking and smoking overnight, and a few weeks later he stood in the water with his daughters. Her mom was baptized a few months after that. The family later learned the likely reason the elders knocked in the first place: a grandmother in the Church who lived five houses down.

Can You Return to Church After Going Inactive?

Yes. Sister Rubio's experience shows that returning to church after going inactive starts with one sincere prayer, not a spotless record. Heavenly Father does not require us to fix ourselves before we talk to Him.

As a teenager, Sister Rubio carried doubts she did not voice. She struggled with anxiety and depression in a home where feelings stayed private, and at 18 she stepped away for about three years. She filled the time with friends, clubs, and choices she knew did not match what she had been taught. It looked like happiness. It did not feel like it.

Then came the night that changed her direction. She got home late, and as she turned the doorknob, a wave of sadness hit her. She felt spiritually dirty, and she knew what she needed to do. She knelt by her bed and said her first prayer in three years. The words Dear Heavenly Father opened a flood of tears, and in that moment, she felt His answer: it was going to be okay. The next morning, her mom invited her to church, and she said yes before her mom finished asking. A returned missionary's testimony that Sunday brought the tears right back. A talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland called Songs Sung and Unsung reminded her that sadness comes, and we hold on anyway. Like the father in Luke 15, Heavenly Father met her while she was still on the way home.

A Mission Decision Over an In-N-Out Burger

A mission was not in her plans. She wanted marriage, motherhood, a career, and the new car she had just bought. Then her cousin, fresh off his own mission, asked her a question over dinner: if the car and the comfortable life were not factors, would she serve? She admitted she probably would. His answer stayed with her. If the desire is there, that is God calling.

She prayed about it and felt warmth settle over her, the kind of confirmation the Spirit gives. That Sunday, testimony after testimony at church seemed aimed straight at her. When she told her dad she wanted to serve, he jumped up and hugged her, and she realized that if her earthly father celebrated like that, her Heavenly Father was celebrating too. Her grandmother became her anchor through the doubts and trials that followed, reminding her that the change was for the Savior.

Learning to Forgive Yourself

Sister Rubio had repented, but she kept replaying her mistakes. She describes herself as her own number one hater. Her dad offered the perspective that broke the cycle. Heavenly Father already knows what we need, and He still wants us humble enough to ask, because asking builds the relationship. Her conclusion changed her life: if Heavenly Father loves her that much, she can learn to love herself.

Real joy followed real repentance, the same pattern Alma describes in the Book of Mormon. Last May, she and her sisters were sealed to their parents in the temple. Standing in the sealing room, she felt her family had reached the goal: together for all time and eternity. Today, she teaches others as a missionary and calls the Savior the cornerstone of her life, the first thought in the morning and the last one at night, just as Paul taught that Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone.

Key Takeaways

1. Heavenly Father works through family. A grandmother five houses down most likely sent the missionaries, and a father's example carried his daughters into the waters of baptism.

2. Repentance can move fast when the desire is real. Sister Rubio's dad quit drinking and smoking overnight and baptized his daughters a few weeks later.

3. Returning to church after going inactive starts with one prayer. Three years of silence ended the night she knelt and said Dear Heavenly Father.

4. Forgiving yourself is part of repentance. Heavenly Father already knows you need help. He still wants you to ask.

5. The temple turns family love into something that outlasts this life. Being sealed to her parents and sisters is the blessing Sister Rubio treasures most.