My testimony...
In my current Sunday school class, dubbed "Chickens Anonymous" (it is a class on how to witness to others, based on the book, "How to Talk About Jesus Without Freaking Out," by Jim and Karen Covell and Victorya Michaels Rogers), everyone was assigned a small project: write your personal spiritual testimony.
This was slightly difficult (not to mention uncomfortable) for me. I have never really sat down and thought about my personal walk with God, let alone tried to put it in words to witness to others. This past Sunday, the teacher asked me to share my story (in 3 minutes or less). Now that I have the initial uneasiness out of the way, I would like to share with you all what I shared with him. I hope you all strongly consider completing your own version of this project. It was such an eye-opening experience for me, and it helped me reflect on all of the ways God has truly blessed my life.
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Seventh grade. Raging hormones. Inner conflicts. It was HELL (or, at least, my definition of Hell). I was miserable at school, having problems with friends and teachers (and my basketball coach). The only place I really felt comfortable was at church. I had friends there and people who seemed to love me, no matter what (a really great youth pastor, too). But, I really only went to church because my parents did - I was raised to, but I really didn't understand the meaning of it.
So, I enrolled in the 1992-93 confirmation class, hoping to get a better understanding of a life with Jesus. The pastor of the church at that time was amazing. He had three children of his own and really seemed to understand how we all thought and felt and what we were going through in that stage of our lives. I learned so much about the church and Jesus that year. I graduated from the class, getting baptized for the first time and becoming a member of the church. For the first time in a really long time, I felt accepted.
Then came high school.
I have one of those personalities that when pushed and pushed and pushed to act a certain way, dress a certain way, behave a certain way, I push back and rebel. I know my parents loved me and only wanted the best for me, but I was an independent spirit. The more they wanted me to be their image of Amber, the more I wanted to be my image of Amber. And, as you can imagine, conflicts were frequent and I found my proud self not wanting to do anything my parents wanted me to do - that included going to church and being an active participant.
I fought with my parents constantly about going to Sunday school and youth group activities (though they made me go anyway). So, I did some things and started hanging out with people who I thought were good for me at the time, but now that I think about it, I am not proud of the experiences I had during that time in my life. When I graduated from high school and moved to Lawrence to begin my college years at KU, I wanted no part of church (looking back now, it was simply because my parents wanted me to have a Christian life, so I rebelled).
My first year of college was absolutely miserable. I had no friends, my classes weren't what I had imagined and my boyfriend was an hour and a half away at K-State. I called home all the time crying and wanting to drop out. My mom, bless her for her patience and faith in me, kept encouraging me to stick with it and to find a group of people I could relate to. I just wanted to get out.
After convincing me to not transfer out at semester, I finished KU in May of 1999 and came home for the summer. It was during that summer that I regrouped, refocused, reconnected and returned to church. I prayed a lot that summer for God to help me figure out why I strayed and how I could get back on track. He showed me that everything I experienced was for a reason and that if I never would have strayed, I probably never would be where I am today in my relationship with Him. I am such a stronger Christian for going through what I went through to get to where I am today.
Through prayer, I was able to see that God never lost faith in me and never abandoned me, even when I felt at my lowest. Even when I abandoned Him and thought I didn't need Him anymore, He was still there for me and loved me unconditionally. Every day, my relationship with Him strengthens, and I know that no matter what trials I face in my life, He will always be there, helping me through. All I have to do is pray... and be willing to listen to what He has to say.
I also really have my mom to thank for bringing me back to God. All I needed to do was grow up a little bit. I finally matured enough to let her push and push and push and me not push back. If it weren't for her continuous faith that I would eventually come around, I would be lost.
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This obviously isn't filled with specific details, but hopefully it gives you an idea of my Christian journey. I am so thankful that I found my way again after leaving the church for a while. I am such a stronger and better person for having Jesus in my life.
In Christ,
Amber
This was slightly difficult (not to mention uncomfortable) for me. I have never really sat down and thought about my personal walk with God, let alone tried to put it in words to witness to others. This past Sunday, the teacher asked me to share my story (in 3 minutes or less). Now that I have the initial uneasiness out of the way, I would like to share with you all what I shared with him. I hope you all strongly consider completing your own version of this project. It was such an eye-opening experience for me, and it helped me reflect on all of the ways God has truly blessed my life.
------------------------------------------------------
Seventh grade. Raging hormones. Inner conflicts. It was HELL (or, at least, my definition of Hell). I was miserable at school, having problems with friends and teachers (and my basketball coach). The only place I really felt comfortable was at church. I had friends there and people who seemed to love me, no matter what (a really great youth pastor, too). But, I really only went to church because my parents did - I was raised to, but I really didn't understand the meaning of it.
So, I enrolled in the 1992-93 confirmation class, hoping to get a better understanding of a life with Jesus. The pastor of the church at that time was amazing. He had three children of his own and really seemed to understand how we all thought and felt and what we were going through in that stage of our lives. I learned so much about the church and Jesus that year. I graduated from the class, getting baptized for the first time and becoming a member of the church. For the first time in a really long time, I felt accepted.
Then came high school.
I have one of those personalities that when pushed and pushed and pushed to act a certain way, dress a certain way, behave a certain way, I push back and rebel. I know my parents loved me and only wanted the best for me, but I was an independent spirit. The more they wanted me to be their image of Amber, the more I wanted to be my image of Amber. And, as you can imagine, conflicts were frequent and I found my proud self not wanting to do anything my parents wanted me to do - that included going to church and being an active participant.
I fought with my parents constantly about going to Sunday school and youth group activities (though they made me go anyway). So, I did some things and started hanging out with people who I thought were good for me at the time, but now that I think about it, I am not proud of the experiences I had during that time in my life. When I graduated from high school and moved to Lawrence to begin my college years at KU, I wanted no part of church (looking back now, it was simply because my parents wanted me to have a Christian life, so I rebelled).
My first year of college was absolutely miserable. I had no friends, my classes weren't what I had imagined and my boyfriend was an hour and a half away at K-State. I called home all the time crying and wanting to drop out. My mom, bless her for her patience and faith in me, kept encouraging me to stick with it and to find a group of people I could relate to. I just wanted to get out.
After convincing me to not transfer out at semester, I finished KU in May of 1999 and came home for the summer. It was during that summer that I regrouped, refocused, reconnected and returned to church. I prayed a lot that summer for God to help me figure out why I strayed and how I could get back on track. He showed me that everything I experienced was for a reason and that if I never would have strayed, I probably never would be where I am today in my relationship with Him. I am such a stronger Christian for going through what I went through to get to where I am today.
Through prayer, I was able to see that God never lost faith in me and never abandoned me, even when I felt at my lowest. Even when I abandoned Him and thought I didn't need Him anymore, He was still there for me and loved me unconditionally. Every day, my relationship with Him strengthens, and I know that no matter what trials I face in my life, He will always be there, helping me through. All I have to do is pray... and be willing to listen to what He has to say.
I also really have my mom to thank for bringing me back to God. All I needed to do was grow up a little bit. I finally matured enough to let her push and push and push and me not push back. If it weren't for her continuous faith that I would eventually come around, I would be lost.
------------------------------------------------------
This obviously isn't filled with specific details, but hopefully it gives you an idea of my Christian journey. I am so thankful that I found my way again after leaving the church for a while. I am such a stronger and better person for having Jesus in my life.
In Christ,
Amber
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