I was
raised in a loving home. My mother was a
believer, so we went to church regularly and my sister and I were involved in
Awana’s as kids. I had thought all along
that my dad was a believer too. It
wasn’t until I was in high school that I realized that wasn’t actually the
case. My dad finally made the decision
to follow Christ and it has been such a blessing to me and my entire family.
I
was saved when I was six or seven years old.
We had been talking about Salvation in Awana’s and I knew that was
something I wanted and needed. One of
the leaders took me out into the hallway and I prayed and asked Christ to
forgive me of my sins and I put my trust in Him and His finished work on the
cross.
I
would say my faith has been a very gradual process. Because I was saved so young, there wasn’t a
whole lot of change immediately after making the decision to follow
Christ. I tried to be a good kid and
obey like the Bible says to, but I don’t think I really truly understood the
weight of my sin until I was in high school.
When
I was in 8th grade we began attending the Efree church in Polk
City. We also attended Sunday school and
youth group. I can still remember when
the youth pastor, Eric Simpson, introduced himself. He was so excited to see new kids at church,
but I was terrified. I was and still am
pretty shy around new people and Eric was so outgoing and upbeat! I had no idea at that moment how much of an
impact that man would have on my life.
During my time in youth group and Sunday school with Eric, I grew so
much. Eric was a prime example of what
it means to live for the Lord and he inspired me to become more like Christ by
setting such a godly example.
In
2007, I decided that I wanted to be baptized.
I had been baptized as a baby, but I now understood that I needed to be
baptized again now that I truly understood what Christ did for me when He died
on the cross. On August 26 I was
baptized by Eric at Big Creek. It was
such an awesome experience to publicly show that I wanted to live my life with
the sole purpose of glorifying God.
Eric
passed away my senior year of high school.
It was the hardest thing I had ever faced. I had family members who passed away, but
none of them were as much a part of my life as Eric had been. I honestly think the only thing that helped
me through that time was the knowledge that God had called Eric home and that
he was with Him in heaven. I know that I
will see Eric again someday. I still
keep a letter in my nightstand that Eric had written to me before he moved to
Wisconsin. I read it every once in a
while to remind me of the man who showed me what it truly means to live for the
glory of God and what he taught me.
I
hope I haven’t given the impression that my walk with God has been easy. I have definitely struggled with sin. Toward the end of high school and the first
few years of college, I was not living for the Lord. I was in a relationship that was anything but
pleasing to God. I knew I should end
things because the relationship was causing me to distance myself from
God. I knew I was sinning, but I wasn’t
ready to stop, so I pretended to be the “good Christian girl” everyone expected
me to be, but inside I felt like such a hypocrite.
Finally,
during my junior year of college God got a hold of me and made it clear that it
was time to end the relationship for good.
I obeyed, but I was terrified.
What if no one else ever wants to be with me? What if I am single for the rest of my life? These were the questions that were constantly
replaying in my mind. God drew me closer
to him despite my doubt. Through time in
His word and lots of prayer, I finally realized that God had bigger and better
plans for me and that I need to rely on Him completely to take care of me. I finally confessed my sins and I know that
He has forgiven me and I am no longer tied down by what I have done. When I finally grew to be content where God
had me, he brought someone new into my life.
By God’s grace, we started a relationship with Christ as our
foundation. It has been such a blessing
to be a part of a relationship that’s centered around Christ. However, I know that if things don’t work
out, it’s because God has something better planned.
I
have no idea what my future holds, but I know that I don’t have to be
afraid. The God of the universe has my
life all planned out. He is in total
control. It’s up to me to trust Him and
let Him use me for His glory wherever and however that may be. I still have a lot to learn and I am
definitely a work in progress, but I am so thankful that my sins are paid for
by Christ’s blood and I am no longer bound to sin.
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