The first time I heard about God was during my junior year in high school. A married couple would go from door to door, asking neighbors if they would like to learn about God. One morning they came to my door, and by the end of the conversation, we scheduled to meet every Sunday morning. I quickly grew bored and still did not know who God was and what being a Christian meant. I called off the meetings my senior year and began focusing more on preparing for college. Looking back, I know God had planned for me to go to Towson University. A friend and I made a bet that by the end of a week, I would apply there and he would quit smoking. Even though he didn’t keep his end of the bargain, I ultimately chose to go to Towson.
God met me again during my Freshman year. Within the first two weeks of school, I met so many Christians from different ministries. I began attending Campus Crusade for Christ, intrigued by the music and teachings about God. I remember feeling lonely a lot because I had a hard time making friends. One day as I was on AOL Messenger, I stumbled upon a Bible verse on someone’s away message. Ecc. 7:14 “when times are good, be happy. But when times are bad, consider: God has made one as well as the other. Therefore, you cannot discover anything about your future.” For some reason, this verse comforted me. I decided to grab the Gideon bible I received on campus to read more on this passage. Little did I know, Ecc. wasn’t in there, but I began looking up verses in the concordance. That day I had spent over three hours reading the Bible. It wasn’t until a month later that I asked God to come into my life, but He had already been working in my heart. As a Christian, I continued serving and attending multiple campus ministries. I attended church within walking distance, and loved this music that glorified God.
My first college winter break was spent blasting worship music and reading Scripture to my dog in my room. Given the gift of prayer, I began praying for my friends and family everyday, as none of them knew God. He gave me courage to evangelize to my friends, giving them Bibles and daily Scripture. As my life became more God-centered, I found a passion to share with others who He was, and what His Son did for us. I became discouraged trying to find a home church to attend and serve. Last January, God brought me the blessing of Lena Nalle, who went to Towson with me. After finding out we were from the same hometown, she invited me to come to Covenant Life. I would sit with the Nalle family every Sunday during second service until I decided to become a member. By God’s Grace, I am here. God has been with me every step of the way, as He has brought me from worshipping in my room, to celebrating His goodness and learning more about Him in His Word with you all.
God continues teaching me to love, serve, and encourage the people I meet with the heart of Christ. Paul says in 1 Corinthians, "woe to me if i do not preach the Gospel" God moves my heart to care for the lost. i love reaching out to the students on campus. It brings me great, great joy to pray faithfully for the brothers and sisters God has blessed me with. What an honor it has been to learn so much from the many people I have gotten to know in such a short time. since moving off campus, every year i prayed for a Christian roommate. God waited to answer this prayer this year, where He would bless me with not one, but four beautiful, Godly, kind women to live with. God amazes me. Since becoming a Christian, I pray God continue to leave me in awe. That He can continue changing my heart to further His Kingdom and that it never stops wanting to learn more about Him. Through many trials of pain and confusion, I ask God to continue giving me strength as I cry out to Him for the salvation of my family. Though I may not always have the words to say, I ask for humility and patience as I faithfully serve them. I pray they open their eyes to see that the love I have for them is not just of my own, but of God’s. What joy it would be to pray with them and rejoice together in Heaven. Though my sin is great, God’s plan is greater. Through fighting to keep trusting, I know one day God will answer this prayer. That through everything I do, He will be glorified and bless me with much, much good fruit. So today I am being baptized to follow Christ’s command and to publicly proclaim Jesus as my Savior and trust my life is in His Hands.
