My Testimony

I wrote this for my Teen Leadership class, I thought I would post it here.

I became a Christian when I was very young, I think I was about four years old. I think I did it because it was important to my family and that if I didn’t I would go to Hell. My “Christian walk” at that age was not a Christian walk, as you can imagine. It was the faith of my parents, I prayed with my Mom but when she stopped coming to pray with me at night I stopped praying. When we found out that my Dad had cancer I started praying again, praying that my Dad would get better. When he did I stopped talking to God because I didn’t really need Him anymore, or so I thought. I continued ignoring my prayer life, I was pretty much like that white washed tomb Jesus talked about. I was a church goer but there was no true relationship.

I went to summer camp for the first time in the summer before I started sixth grade, that was where I discovered that God really did want to have a relationship with me. That August in 2002 I rededicated my life to Christ, I really meant it. How have I changed since then? Christ got a hold of my life and He has been working in it ever since. Instead of only praying to God when I think I needed His help, now I pray to Him because I want to talk to Him and I know now that I always need His help.

God combines things that I face, things that I read, things I hear to challenge, convict or encourage me. God used the youth staff at my old youth group to help me to grow, He uses my family and friends as well. It’s an amazing tapestry of what He does in a person’s life, it’s so complex that I cannot understand it from where I’m standing. Someday I will understand why. A huge struggle I had was almost two years ago, when I left my youth group. These people had been my family for three years, that youth group is one of the reasons that I am who I am today. It was a very hard time for me, but God comforted me in ways that reached the hurts that no other person could have been there for me like God was and is. He was very much there for me in that time, the verse in Zephaniah 3 verse 17 is what He did for me, “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

The past year has been filled with hard trials, but through them all God has been faithful. I broke my ankle in May and had surgery, God was with me through all that. God went before me and after me, I would have been so afraid if I hadn’t been trusting that God’s plan is the best thing for me. God showed me that He supplies what we need when we need it. He will never put us in a trial that we can’t face. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

Sometimes I stop and think how different my life would be if I wasn’t a Christian. I am amazed to think what I would have been if God hadn’t chosen the people that were around me. I am so thankful that He saved me, I am so thankful that He will always be working in my life. He doesn’t give up on people, He is so faithful. I think that is one of the main things that He has shown me, He is faithful to do all He has promised.