A Sheep Gone Astray

Before I received Christ I was searching for love in all the wrong places.

I was going from one relationship to the next, always thinking "it's going to be different this time, he's going to give me what I need." I would go in whole heartedly, certain I would receive the same commitment in return. But ultimately I would end up aggravated and unsure about why the relationship wasn't turning out how I had imagined.

I accepted Jesus into my heart at a young age, but my family fell out of church a few years later. Ultimately I turned my back on God, always knowing in the back of my mind that I needed to be back in church but making an excuse for why it had to wait. I fell into a lifestyle that I wasn't proud of, though I hid my iniquity well. I was prideful, lustful, envious, and a liar. One day though, I woke up and enough was enough. I'm not saying I necessarily heard God speak to me but He reached out to me. I was so lost I couldn't have made the decision on my own. I prayed to Him and told Him I was going to read my entire Bible in the next year. I hadn't reached a place of true repentance at the time, but it was just around the corner. As I began reading and actively pursuing God... My life began to change, my opinions began to change, my heart began to change. I am so grateful that God loved me in my iniquity and reached out to me regardless of my sin.

Now, I have discovered that Jesus is the only one I can turn to for love and not be disappointed.

After making Jesus Christ the Lord of my life and repenting of my sin I started becoming a new person. Now, instead of obsessing over my relationship and making it the center of my universe, I have made Jesus the center of my universe. When I experience problems and dilemmas in my life, instead of worrying about them, I pray about them and leave them to God. While life is never going to be perfect, I know that with God on my side I can conquer anything that comes my way.

Jesus commands us to turn from our old lives, take up our cross, and follow Him. I know that because I have done these things (and continue to do these things) I am in route to heaven.