I was born into a Christian family - Pastor's kid, going to church on Sundays, and going to a Christian school. Still, I never actually accepted Jesus personally. From the outside, I looked like I was always doing the right thing at home, school, and church, but I had been sinning in secret and was able to hide it from everyone for two years. During this time, my attitude started to get bad; although doing things that you know is wrong feels good for a short time, it wears off, and I would feel terrible afterwards.
One day about 3 years ago, (well, to be exact, on January 10, 2017) my mom and I had a one-on-one talk. She said that we could always share with her about anything, and that there was nothing that I can share so bad that we can’t get through it. So I came to her one night and opened up. I was crying so much, and I don’t really know why. I was scared but also relieved. My mom and I talked about how it is natural for people to sin and how it is impossible to change on our own. That’s why we need Jesus to save us. So right then and there, I prayed. I told Jesus that I am a sinner and that I no longer wanted to keep on sinning the way that I did. That day, Jesus became my Lord and Savior and gave me a new start.
The next morning, our whole family decided to start daily devotions reading the Bible from the beginning. For a while, I started opening up to my mom almost every night – about things that I was thinking about, dreaming about, or even remembered that I did wrong many years ago. That was part of the process of God changing my life. However, for a long time, there was this empty period of time when I felt I wasn't doing anything for God and that nothing had really changed in my life after those first few weeks. I was cruising along my spiritual walk, experiencing neither highs nor lows.
Then, in December of 2019, I attended the triennial CMC at Baltimore, MD. It was my first time at the youth sessions, and at first I didn't want to go, "wasting" a week of my Christmas break from school. However, as the days passed, the messages began to speak out to me more and more. A few major points stuck with me throughout the week (defining humility, living for God's glory, leaving the past behind, progression not perfection, and trusting God in prayer). (See CMC testimony for details).
I’ve stopped doing what it was that I was hiding, but I’m not perfect. Today, I’m still learning and growing in my faith with friends and family to help me along the way.