My journey to where I am now with God has been a rollercoaster. I grew up going to church with my family and would read my Bible and do the right things, but I never had a personal connection to God. As I entered my freshman year of high school, I wanted to be like everyone else and surrounded myself with ungodly friendships that pushed me away from God just so I could feel like I fit in. I was ashamed to make it known that I believed in God, and I started to believe the lie that I wasn’t worthy of God‘s love. These negative thoughts about my self-worth affected my daily life to the point where I didn’t feel that I could have real joy.
”I started on a journey to get closer to God, but nothing seemed to work - I was still in wrong friendships and I didn’t know how to let God take control of my life.
Halfway through my freshman year at Hazen High, a friend invited me to attend the “Jesus Club” at my school. It was at this school club, on February 16, 2023, that I gave my life to Christ with all my heart and felt an overwhelming sensation that I now belong to Him. I started on a journey to get closer to God, but nothing seemed to work – I was still in wrong friendships and I didn’t know how to let God take control of my life. The negative thoughts and self-doubt came back but worse.
One night, I prayed to God and begged him to remove these thoughts that my mind was held captive by, and if he did, I would forever dedicate myself to him and spread his word for the remainder of my life. God has since that moment helped me capture my thoughts and live in freedom from doubt. I knew that following Jesus meant that I should get baptized, so on September 17, 2023, I did.
Since then, I have found every chance to spread his word from speaking to middle school students, to serving at church, to sharing my testimony at school with others, and posting about my faith on my social media accounts. I also started a prayer wall at Hazen as an outlet for other teens to look to God when life gets hard. With God’s help I have removed those ungodly friendships from my life and added better ones that help me grow. I desire for my faith to be an example for others in their journey with God, by modeling what it means to have a relationship with him and leading others to him.
