What's My Story
The journey and the road
Heidi
I grew up going to church with my parents and as a young kid I thought that everyone went to church. I was involved in a lot of programs at church and it was a place that I enjoyed going to. On Sundays it brought our family together. My dad worked a lot and during the week I would only see him for a hour or two at night before bed. So Sundays were great days to spend as a family and we usually went out to eat for lunch every Sunday, so that was always fun.
As I got older I started going to the youth group at my church and I absolutely loved it. We had great leaders who would teach us about God and we always played the best games. I would invite my friends to come with me all the time because I thought it was such a great place to be. When I got into high school I was still going to youth group but as a freshmen I had a pretty good basketball season. I loved the game, even as a kid I was the girl who played with the boys at recess and all my best friends were boys up until 4th grade. At the end of my freshmen season my coach told me they wanted to move me up to varsity for the tournament and that I was going to be a great basketball player! As the years went on I fell in love with the game. I was very focused on being the best and in the past my school was not very competitive at the varsity level but I was going to change all that. By my senior year church and God were not that important in my life. I lived to play ball. I would get up at 5:30 3 times a week to play at co-ed open gyms. I went to all the boys open gyms because I knew that was what would make me a better player. And then I met a coach who continually worked with me and told me how great I was and how great I was going to be. I no longer had room in my life for God and I was okay with that.
By my freshmen year of college, I moved away from my family, friends, and my home to go to school. I still had basketball because I was going to be playing college basketball, but I felt like I was missing something in my life. In the back of my mind I felt like there was this voice saying what about me? Heidi, why have you forgotten me? I never knew what it meant to really have a relationship with God. I met some people, who became great friends, who were really passionate about their relationship with God. They not only went to church but they would read their Bibles and pray and sure I did that every now and then, but these friends I met had a faith that seemed so real. I remembering thinking, I wish I could be like that, but I gave that up and didn't think I could have it back, because in my desire to be the best I had made many compromises on things in my life and I didn't think God would want someone like me. However, about half way through my time in college I had a wake up call. I realized that I wanted to know God and have a relationship with Him like my friends did and my faith had to become my own, not just what my parents taught me to believe. I prayed that God would forgive me and change my life. I had discovered that true life value comes from a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
I asked Jesus to forgive me and committed myself to living my life for Him. My journey of faith has been one filled with learning about what it means to follow Christ. I believed since I was a child that God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross and forgive my sins but I did not understand the impact that this would have on my life. I have learned that faith is like a muscle and it needs to be built and strengthened as we walk in a relationship with the God who created us. Having a relationship with Christ fills my heart with hope in knowing that life on Earth is not all we are living for.
I know without a doubt that this life is not the end and that when I die I will meet my Savior face to face. I want everyone to have this same assurance and hope for eternity. Life here is so temporary when compared to eternity. If your life ended today, could you say with certainty that you would be in Heaven?