Hayden Goodings: My Journey to God as a sixteen year old in 2024

Before I recieved Jesus, I was angry and hateful.

I remember being young, and being abused by my dad. He emotionally destroyed me growing up and it has made it a struggle to connect with others because of my inability to grow close to people, and my inability to trust in others. It has caused me deep depression and made me comtemplate suicide and I have struggled with addiction, anxiety, depression, and self harm in the past.

Then I started going to church, after a close family friend invited me. I went for a long time, hesitant to make the step towards God for many reasons, the biggest of which being the idea that I didn't deserve God's forgiveness. I ended up accepting God after about two years, and I have spent the rest of that time trying to move closer to God.

Now that I have found God, I have become a happier person, and while I do struggle with my old ways sometimes, I have managed to move away for the most part and live a better life.

I went on a missions trip to Guatemala in March 2024, where I learned a lot about myself and the world, and who I want to grow up to be. I saw the poverty that the kids down there were going through, and I decided that I want to help and work with kids who are struggling with those things and help them to move away from that and closer to God.

I'm so happy that I have been saved by Jesus, because I know that if I were to die right now, I would go to heaven because I have accepted my sins and moved towards God.