I grew up in a Christian home. I went to church every Sunday, and my family was involved in church activities. We prayed together, and we read the Bible and devotionals as a family regularly. I knew all of these things were things Christians did. However, I thought doing these actions made me a Christian and meant I was saved automatically. I lacked an actual relationship with Christ.
When I was in elementary school, I talked about my background in the church openly. However, when I entered middle school, I became quiet about it. I had become a people-pleaser. Christianity wasn’t popular, and I didn’t want to offend anyone. When people asked me what I believed on certain issues, instead of checking what the Bible had to say about it, I would go along with what the majority of people believed.
In the middle of my sixth grade year, my parents pulled me out of that school and enrolled me at Whitefield Academy, a Christian school. My teachers talked about living out your faith frequently, and I realized that this was not how I had been living. I remember hearing about Jesus’ sacrifice at school one day, and even though I had heard this truth countless times before, I realized for the first time just how much I needed that sacrifice.
For a while, I felt extremely guilty and terrified that I wasn’t saved. When I was too scared to talk to anyone else, I cried out to the Lord in prayer for mercy. Prayer became a regular part of my life. I was no longer praying out of obligation, but out of a desire for a relationship with God. I started reading my Bible daily as well, in order to seek God’s truth.
During this time, I accepted Christ as my Savior. Since then, I have walked with Christ daily. Throughout my walk, I often find myself struggling with overthinking, relying on my own strength and striving. However, in these moments I remind myself that Christ is my foundation, not my works. Now I stand on the truths I find in God’s word. I can tell others that I am a Christian, not because of anything I have done, but because of what Christ has done for me.