I was born into a Christian home and I attended church and Sunday school regularly. My parents taught me and my older sister, Emma, about Jesus, and one night when I was about five years old, I asked Jesus into my heart. Growing up in the small town where I live was pretty easy, I guess you could say. Most of my friends were the people who I not only attended school with, but also church and Sunday school. Some people would say this was a blessing (and it was), but I'd say it was also a challenge. It made having faith so much easier, which in my case means that I didn't really grow in my faith until I actually realized I was in a rut. My faith was just something I took for granted.
Something I've always struggled with is the concept of perfection. I guess you could say I've always been a "good girl". I got good grades, I went to church, and I tried my best to be kind to others. But I constantly worried (and still do worry) about being perfect. If my grades weren't at a certain point, I'd feel like a failure. And it didn't just go as far as school work. The concept of perfection was everywhere, even in my music life. I remember being at a violin recital and having a mini meltdown right before I was about to go on stage. I panicked that I wouldn't remember all the notes and I'd mess up. My mom said "it's not the end of the world if you mess up." And I replied, "yes it is." I was constantly trying not to mess up, when one day I realized; my goal in life shouldn't be to be perfect, it should be to be Christ-like.
Jesus was definitely not the center of my life, but He was there when I needed Him. Sure I prayed every day and night, but soon enough it just turned into the same prayer consisting of thanks for this day, thanks for my family, thanks for safe travels, and help me to have a good nights sleep. Something I started about a year or two ago that has definitely helped me grow in my faith was a prayer list. I didn't necessarily have to have a visual list, just a mental one. Each night, I'd try to think of some friends who needed praying for - maybe they'd moved away, maybe they were struggling, or maybe I just wanted to tell God just how much I loved them. I'd make sure to pray for them in whatever God was doing in their lives and thank Him for putting them in my life. This is something I still do today, and I must say, when I meet up with those people face to face, they usually seem to be doing pretty good.
Back in October of this past year (2014) there was a car accident involving some of the students from Bethany Bible College - the college that my older sister attended. Luckily, my sister wasn't in that vehicle. There were only two very seriously injured students, one more than the other. My sister's roommate was the more seriously injured. She was in a coma for about 3 months. I was always scared of going in to visit her during that time because we didn't know if she'd wake up. I was afraid of what God was going to do in her life. Finally one day while she was still unconscious, I went in to see her. And now, less than a year later, she's already learned how to walk and talk again, and she's still getting better each day. Now I'd say that this is proof that God still works miracles.
My favorite Bible verse is Isaiah 41:10. "Do not fear for I am with you. Do not be afraid for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand." This verse has helped me through the dark valleys in my life, and will keep helping me for the rest of my life.
I chose to get baptized because I felt that the timing was right, and that in my heart, I wanted to get closer to God by taking this next step in my faith. I just want to say, if you're thinking of being baptized, make sure you're doing it for you. Not because your friends are doing it. You need to be the one who wants to take the step. I guess you could say, you do you. When our pastor announced that he'd be teaching baptism classes again, I got a feeling that I was supposed to do it. I'd been wanting to get baptized for a while, and I just knew that now was the time. I talked to him after the service and it was set. I didn't know who else was joining in on the class, and I was glad for that. Because that meant that I was doing it for me and for God - not for my friends. I actually discovered that two of my friends from school plus a girl from a younger grade than me were also getting baptized, and this gave me a chance to get to know them a little better. We had a lot of fun and none of us regret it.
So now, I've already applied to work at a Bible camp not too far from where I live. One that I've attended ever since I was about eight years old. I'm super excited to grow in my faith, and especially to work with all the kids! I really love working with kids, and I'm really excited to tell them about my faith journey and to help them grow in their walk with Christ. I'm also trying to do daily devotions. These are pretty inspiring (and no, I'm not trying to be cheesy and sappy). They actually are. For example, the one I read last night talked about who we are behind closed doors. Who are we when no one is watching us? I know for me, I'm much kinder to my friends than to my family. This is something I've got to work on in my life, and getting baptized was apart of that. Getting baptized screamed - hey! look at me! I'm going to live for God! It said, I'm going to make a change in my life, which means trying to be more like Him. And I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure Jesus was kind to everyone, and that's what I want. Not to be perfect. But to be like Him in all I do.
So now that I've rambled on for quite a while, here are some pictures I'd like to share. The day before I was baptized, my mom took me out for what she called "a baptism photo shoot". We took a few picture to remember the day. So, without further ado, here they are.
Ps. Speaking of who you are behind closed doors, that fifth picture pretty much sums me up!
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