Wife's faith led Lee to Jesus

At just 29 years old, Lee Strobel was living the dream.

A hard-nosed, award-winning journalist at the Chicago Tribune, Lee was chasing down crime stories and courtroom drama with relentless zeal.

But in 1979, his world came crashing down – not because of a scandal or scoop, but because his wife Lesley, then 28, “did the unthinkable” and became a Christian.

“There were stresses on every aspect of our marriage, because suddenly our values were different,” Lee, now 74, told New Life.

“We met when we were 14 years old and got married when she was 19 and I was 20.

“So, we’d known each other very well for quite a long time and our values were always aligned. But after she became a Christian, suddenly every aspect of our life was up in the air.”

What followed was nothing short of war in the Strobel household. While Lesley quietly prayed and left Bible verses around the house – sometimes underlined in open Bibles, other times stuck to mirrors – Lee pushed back hard.

“I was resistant and when she would try to bring it up, I would lash out.

“There was a time when I kicked a hole in our living room wall because she wanted to go to church.”

But Lesley’s grace and quiet persistence began to chip away at his scepticism.

Curious about the transformation he saw in her, Lee finally agreed to attend Willow Creek Church in South Barrington, Illinois – where he heard the gospel for the first time.

story continues …