Former Sports Illustrated model Kathy Ireland opened up about finding faith in Jesus Christ at 18 years old.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Ireland, 60, spoke about the moment she opened a Bible for the first time during the beginning of her modeling career after growing up “with really no faith.” Her mother had snuck the Bible into her suitcase after just coming to faith herself.
“It was during a really lonely time in Paris, jet lag and loneliness, middle of the night that I opened up that Bible. I didn’t know how to read it,” she explained.
Ireland added, “And I was a rebellious teenager questioning who really knows the truth, who really knows what’s right or wrong.”
However, as she began to read it, she said she realized the Bible “was the truth” and her “life forever changed.”
“Jesus was nothing like I thought. I was listening to other people’s soundbites about who He was and what the Bible said,” Ireland said.
She continued:
“I was alone in that room, so nobody was telling me, be this denomination or that denomination. It was just, I want to follow Him. And that changed everything for me because at that moment, Jesus became my lord and savior. And I knew if He’s with me, who could be against me?”
Ireland dmitted to being “arrogant” about reading the Bible initially and said her relationship with God took “a very long time.”
“I was picking and choosing, and I was trying to mold God into what I wanted him to be rather than surrendering and allowing Him to mold me into the person He made me to be,” she shared.
Ireland revealed how the Bible has positively impacted her life after making “a lot of mistakes.”
“I love the scripture that says the one who is forgiven much, loves much. So, I love a whole bunch, and I’m so grateful. I’m a slow learner, and I’m just so grateful He’s so patient,” she said.