I began my journey to Christ the summer I turned 18. My friend from school and I went on a grand adventure: a cross country cycling trip that took us from Dallas, TX to Los Angeles, CA; covering 1500 miles and taking over a month. The people I met, love I felt, and things I saw on this trip began to shape who I was to become as a follower of Christ. However, journey is long, and the setbacks were numerous.
I continued to struggle with depression for many years afterwards, and often times I felt like my there was no hope in living and that there was truly no purpose for our lives. No matter how hopeless I felt God would always show his grace and mercy, without me even realizing. Moving away from home and beginning a new life in college began to open my heart to Him.
The summer I turned 22 I went on another great adventure, this time to China to study abroad in a Buddhist monastery. Again, God opened my eyes to awesome love, people, and experiences that I never even dreamed I would have. Upon returning home and attending church services on a regular basis, I began to realize that the Lord was calling me to open my heart and accept Christ. God had been working at this for years without my knowledge. It was a difficult decision made easy with the realization that He was with me every step of the way. I feel incredibly blessed that we have such a patient and forgiving God. When I realized that He had been perusing me for so long, I chose to invite in and to put Him in charge of my life. I’ve surrendered my life and I’m not looking back.
