Baptized: 6/16/13

I grew up in a family where my mother is Catholic and my father is Baptist. It was a family where we believed in the existence of God but we weren’t really living our lives according to Him. Church was never really a mandatory thing in my home even though my dad went to his church every Sunday. I wasn’t baptized as a baby due to my parents’ difference of opinion in whether I should be baptized in the Catholic Church or the Baptist church. Growing up, I just had the basic concept that as long as I was doing all the “right Christian things” then I was saved. But I didn’t know the Lord intimately, I just knew about Him.

When I came to college, I had a set goal to gain a closer relationship with God and to live my life according to His word. However, as time went on, I realized how much I had put God on the back burner of my life decisions. It wasn’t until my senior year of college that it started to really sink in that there was an emptiness inside of me. Even though I was being very responsible in my decisions and doing the right things, my heart wasn’t full and I couldn’t understand why I was feeling so low. I began to call upon the Lord for answers. Looking back on all that confusion, I know now that God was always by my side. He had a plan for me and it was already in motion.

Living with Maggie my senior year, I began to notice a similar desire in her to know the Lord more intimately as well and before we knew it, it seemed like all we would do is pour our hearts out to each other and call upon the Lord for answers. When we began our bible studies with Brother Chris and Miss Sara, I started to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ. This past year, God has been changing my heart and my mind so much.  He has given me a new way of thinking and a desire to know Him more and more intimately every day.

It amazes me that with as many people as there are in the world, God sees me and knows me better than I know myself. He knows what I am capable of. He knows my every thought. He knows what I’ll be doing tomorrow, next week, and next year. It’s an exciting feeling to know that God has a plan for me and that all I need to do is surrender my life to Him.

Philippians 4:6-7 says “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

I am getting baptized today because I know that God’s love for me has always been and always will be the same. It’s a never-failing love and no matter where I am or what I am doing, He is right there with me. I am dying to myself and living for Him instead because of the price He paid for me on the cross.