I was raised an only child in a non-practicing household. My parents didn't go to church, but they never told me I couldn't choose my own paths. Unfortunately, early experiences with different churches were discouraging, to say the least. I enjoyed going to Christmas cantatas with my grandmother at her baptist church in Victoria, but other than that, churches were for weddings and funerals.
When I was 10, I moved to a big house in the country with my parents. In the summer when I was 12, I was walking to the store for stuff, and up to that point I had been feeling very alone and sad. As I was walking along the side of the road, I looked to my left into the dirt and watched sandal-prints begin forming in the dirt, walking alongside me. As I watched I saw the faded image of feet in sandals and then the very bottom of a tunic. That's when I realized what I was witnessing, I stopped, and stared in disbelief. The moment I stopped, the image disappeared, and all at once I felt all my sadness and anxiety leave me. I was filled with peace, and I couldn't explain it. That was my first awakening to Christ.
I grew up, still living without Christ as a major focal point of my life, and it wasn't until last October when I started talking to a friend about her beliefs in Christ that I really started to think about how He related to my life. When I moved to Calgary, one of the first things I did was take a trip to Edmonton to visit her. We went to her church that Saturday night, and it was there that I felt most at home. I felt everything in my life begin to make sense... complete sense. The next night I committed my life to Christ in prayer, accepting Him into my life and allowing Him full control. The change has been amazing, and I feel His guidance almost every day. There are days that are a struggle, but I wouldn't go back to the way life used to be for anything in the world. My eyes have been opened to a better life, a better way of thinking. I wish and pray that everyone could feel the way I do today. |
