As a child, I loved reading. As a teenager, I hated it. A lot of this disdain came from being forced to read 1-2 books every grading period for middle school and high school English class. Books that were, in my opinion, boring and irrelevant, and made for very long 50 minute periods every day. In spite of this, there were 2 books that I really enjoyed. One of them was George Orwell's 1984. (Maybe it was the whole futuristic sci fi fantasy thing. I'm nerdy like that.) The other was John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. First published in 1678, it is the allegorical story that tells about the journey of a man named Christian from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. Guided by Evangelist, Christian makes many friends, including Faithful and Hopeful, and passes through many trials and tests, including the Slough of Despond, the Valley of the Shadow of Death and the town of Vanity, where he has to escape from prison. Later, his wife Christiana and their children set out to join him and eventually arrive at the Celestial City as well. It is apparent from the beginning that Bunyan is giving his take on what the Christian life looks like, a journey from destruction caused by sin to new life in God's great city. He is sharing a story and, if you really think about it, the life of every Christian is a story. It's the tale of a journey that has a beginning and an end with many temptations and defining moments in between. The writer of Hebrews calls it a race. Paul calls it a fight. Mine begins in 1981 in Jackson, Mississippi where I was born into conservative, middle class, church-going family. Growing up I hated going to church and it wasn't until I got into high school that I began to realize its importance. Starting my freshman year I was involved in Bible Club and many of my friends were Christians but it wasn't until a mission trip with my youth group to Brazil in 1997 that I truly realized what being a Christian was all about. One of the things that we did on that trip was share the Gospel, something that, growing up Southern Baptist, I had heard thousands of times. It was part of every sermon every Sunday but, for me, the implications had never truely sunk in. As I shared the Gospel with people in the city where we were ministering I began to realize that I needed the very thing that I was offering them. Although I was baptized shortly after returning home, it wasn't until several years later that I truely gave my heart to Christ.
All I wanted out of my college experience was to make some friends that I could keep with me for the rest of my life in an environment not too far from home and gain a Christian foundation on which to build my career. I got all of that and more at a place called Union University. I had gone in as a PreMed/Biology major with the goal of one day being a pediatrician but all of those dreams came crashing down after I nearly flunked out, not once, but twice. It felt like my entire world had come crashing down. I felt attacked and oppressed emotionally and spiritually. I had put a lot of pressure on myself and desperately wanted to be successful at that level but all I could think about was how I had let everyone down. I began my sophomore year undecided and with a full load of some easier core classes in order to help my GPA. It was an opportunity to step back and reflect but one October night I had finally had enough. I don't remember the exact words that I used but I basically told God that I couldn't go on trying to do things myself, that I needed him to come and help me. As prayed there in the Chapel after a midweek evening worship service with one of my good friends I literally felt the burden lifted. At the age of 19 I knew that God was there and I knew that he was going to stay.
After over 10 years I can tell you that he has stayed. As I have moved across the state of Tennessee he has been an integral part of every move. He has made sure that every potential problem was taken care of. At each stop he has provided me with an amazing church home as well as brothers and sisters who love me as I am and encourage me and hold me accountable in my walk with Christ. Over the last couple of years he has taught me how much my sin really disappoints him and what it really meant when he sent Jesus to this earth and to the cross. He constantly reminds me that Jesus is alive and freedom is available to those who cry out to him. Because of him I have life eternal and hope everlasting.
