Anne’s Story

I grew up in a Christian home; my dad was even the pastor in our church. There was never a moment that I felt like I did not know who God was and I praise God for blessing me with parents who instilled in me the truth of His word at a young age. When I was seven I accepted Christ into my heart after my dad told me about the importance of having a relationship with Him. I remember my dad asking me if I wanted to have Christ in my heart so that I would then have eternal life through Christ Jesus. He explained to me how “God sent His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not parish but have everlasting life”-John 3:16. I prayed and asked Jesus Christ into my heart right away. I continued to learn about God and grew in my relationship with Christ up until high school where I somewhat hit a stand-still in my faith. I was what people would consider a good person in high school. I did not drink or swear, I went to church every Sunday and lived the “Christian life,” but internally I was very insecure and was not pursuing a relationship with God. Throughout high school I gained security through what others thought of me. I loved the attention when guys “liked me” and my happiness really depended on how many friends I had and what my status was “popular,” “well-liked,” “beautiful” etc. Because I was not grounded in God’s word and was not gaining fulfillment through His Son during high school, I sunk into a bad lifestyle when I hit college.

Freshman year at college, I struggled with alcohol and was still set on gaining my fulfillment from others. I literally went out on the weekends because that is what everyone wanted me to do. However, during this time, no matter how many people were pleased with the fact that I drank, or how many guys “liked me,” I still was left feeling empty inside. I realized that this lifestyle was not for me-after almost a year of living in it-when my parents found out that I had been drinking. Disappointing them was so hard for me I could not do it anymore. It was at that moment that I realized how much more I was disappointing my Father in Heaven who sent His Son to die for my sins with the way I was living. After this realization, I re-dedicated my life to Christ and began to submit fully to His will.

When I made the choice to submit every area of my life to Christ, I instantly felt relieved. It was in this place that I realized how my relationship with God should be the only thing matters to me. Although I was relieved and safely under God’s wings, my life was still far from perfect. In fact, I struggled with guilt about my past for almost a year after this choice. My struggle with guilt finally stopped when I went to a church retreat and was shown this verse: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” 2 Corinthians 6:1. This verse blew me away! I am the righteousness of God now that I have accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. Nothing from my past matters anymore because Christ took that sin upon Himself when He died on the cross so that I do not have to be guilty anymore!

I am more motivated now to actively seek out areas in my life that I desire to see God change. When He convicts me of a sin such as thinking negatively towards others or gossip, I immediately open the Bible and find verses that I can memorize to help reign in my sin. Amazingly God directs me right to the verses I need for that moment! I know I will never be close to perfect, but I pray that God will continue to show me areas in my life that I can change to make my life better for His kingdom.