Dan’s Story

To put it into perspective, my life before Christ looked like this: I was a fetus in my mother’s womb and then I quickly advanced through my infant and toddler stages of life. I had not yet “accepted Jesus” into my life. I’m not exactly sure when I initially accepted Jesus, but we’ll say I was between the ages 5 and 8. At this stage of my life, I knew who Jesus was and what he had done for me—He was God, who came to earth as a man to die in my place to justify my disobedience to God. From that point on I’ve been a Christian. I practically lived at my church growing up, I was in youth groups at least once a week, and my non-biological family was made up of the members of my church. From the time I was born, I was encircled with hearing God’s word (the Bible). Whether it was through all the Christian music my family listened to, the Christ-loving people I grew up knowing, or the countless Bibles I received growing up, I was surrounded with Jesus.

Being a Christian through high school was easy for me. I was a fairly shy person, and the friends I did have were, for the most part, Christians as well. I coasted through high school. I socialized with people through small talk and brief encounters. I tried to live my life in a ‘Christian way’ as best I could. I tried to be nice to everyone. I ate lunch with people who ate by themselves. I helped struggling classmates with their schoolwork. On the Track and Cross Country team, I would try to introduce the younger runners to the older ones and make sure no one was left out. Not to sound full of myself, but when people talked about me they would say, “Yeah, Dan’s a really nice guy.” That is all people really knew about me. They knew I was a runner and a nice guy. And I was okay with that. It was comfortable for me to not let people too close.

Once I came to college, people no longer saw me as even a nice runner. They hardly saw me at all. That’s when I started to realize that being comfortable is not enough. I started getting out of my comfort zone; talking to new people and hanging out with people I had never met before. That’s when life started getting comfortable again. I would go to class, work, and hang out with newly acquired friends. However, this time there was something missing. I had lost my connection with Jesus. I no longer had my family and friends that kept me close with God. I needed to fall in love with Christ again.

Once again, I took a step out of my comfort zone and asked God to open me to his will. Within a month, I stumbled upon a Bible study in my dorm that encouraged me in my walk with Christ. I still may not know exactly what God’s will for me is, but I am now open to obeying it when it is clear to me. Not only did I open myself to God, I also opened myself to sharing God’s gift with others.