JG86
August 6th, 2008, 12:32 AM
Even though I’m 21 I like to think of myself as a lot more mature than my age indicates. And with good reason, I’ve been born-again since age 16. Being saved at such a young age had it’s own pros and cons, with the ultimate pro winning out everything in the end. That ultimate pro being that I would be spending an eternity in heaven with my Lord Jesus Christ and all the brothers and sisters that I have through him.
The major thing that I carry with me each day and stress upon everyone I meet is that everything happens for a reason. And that reason is because the Lord wills it. Although reading the bible and praying will bring one close with our Father, knowing that everything happens for a reason and feeling a sense of closeness when you realize it, especially when it happens when you'd least expect it can do so as well. And in the most surprising of ways.
I guess you can say that I’m biased towards the belief that everything happens for a reason. How couldn’t I be? I was born-again after a chain of events that could only have been guided with the most holy and skilled of hands.
After finishing tenth grade, my father informed me we were going to be moving to another state in order for us to have our own house and a small piece of land. Unsurprisingly, I objected to this for a variety of reasons. One, I’d be leaving my lifelong friends and the place I’d called home. Two, we were moving from the Boston suburbs to the very definition of Boondocks. Oh and having to get acclimated to an entirely new high school wasn’t a plus on my list either!
If that wasn’t enough, our house wouldn’t be done until October and we currently found ourselves in June. Many, many, hotel stays and sleepovers with family would follow.
During this time, since I essentially had said goodbye to my friends, I was “stuck” with my parents for the summer. I love my parents to death and look back on the experience with tears in my eyes, but at the time, I was not a happy camper.
As an outlet for my imagination and an excuse to not talk to my parents as much, I would read anything I could get my hands on. I had always loved to read, so this was no problem and much of the hotel stays consisted of reading, swimming and attempting to persuade my father to let me order video games on the TV.
One particularly dreary day I found myself sprawled on a chair in the hotel lobby. I was feeling awfully sorry for myself and was beginning to think of my new school a little to much for my relaxed tastes. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a Times magazine. Since it was something to do, I snatched it up and began to half-heartedly flip through it’s pages.
After sighing because the magazine didn’t appear to have anything interesting to read inside, I was about to put it down when I spotted something about the 'end times'. I was vaguely aware of the end times and it’s relationship to the Bible but had always been intrigued by it. It had caught my attention and I read on.
Ten minutes later, my head was spinning. Apparently, there was a series of books about the end times and it was based off of the Bible’s teachings. The article also stated that we were currently in what was believed to be the end times and something called the rapture would clear out all believers in anticipation of the coming 'tribulation'.
I couldn’t tell you if I believed it or not at the time, but I can tell you that those books now had my undivided attention. I did not stop harping my parents until I had secured a ride to the bookstore, purchased the first two books and was comfortably positioned and reading them.
Like many before me (and after), the Left Behind books opened my eyes. It led me to stumble upon the Rapture Ready website, where I read up on being saved, what it meant and how my life would be changed forever.
I had made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as my savior earlier in the day, but didn’t feel right doing it until it was just He and I. That night, while lying down on a couch, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and cleansed myself of my sins thanks to His Sacrifice. I immediately felt different. It’s hard to explain but those of you who have experienced it know. I equate that exact moment as to when I was fully aware of the presence of The Holy Spirit. Everything in my life suddenly made sense and my petty squabbles about moving and leaving my friends were laughable. This life was just temporary -- I was in store for an eternity of paradise with my Lord and Savior as well as my brothers and sisters through Him.
After asking for forgiveness and accepting Jesus as my Savior, I went on to talk aloud to him for several hours. I told Him everything and expressed my gratitude of how I was guided to salvation. It was at that moment that I knew that everything happened for a reason.
We ended up only living in the new state for a little over a year and a half. All of that trouble and we just packed up and moved back home. In retrospect, both of my parents agree with my when I state that I believe the entire process of moving and all the troubles that went with it only happened because it was necessary for me to become born-again. If we hadn’t moved, I never would have been in that hotel and able to read that magazine. Sure, I could have come to salvation through another way but I am a firm believer that you are guided towards salvation should your heart choose to accept it and everything that happened during that time -- when I look back on it still brings wonder to my eyes.
We truly are the children of a loving, caring Father who wants nothing else but for us to be cleansed of our sins. While it shouldn’t surprise us that He can so eloquently pull the strings to set certain events into action, it is still beautiful and touching to experience.
To this day, I often experience things -- big and small that reminds me that the Lord is still watching over us. He is all powerful and does according to His will. So the next time you experience something that makes you wonder if everything happens for a reason, know that it does and treasure that moment -- for it is one of the few instances where we can be assured we are in the presence of the Lord.
God Bless.
The major thing that I carry with me each day and stress upon everyone I meet is that everything happens for a reason. And that reason is because the Lord wills it. Although reading the bible and praying will bring one close with our Father, knowing that everything happens for a reason and feeling a sense of closeness when you realize it, especially when it happens when you'd least expect it can do so as well. And in the most surprising of ways.
I guess you can say that I’m biased towards the belief that everything happens for a reason. How couldn’t I be? I was born-again after a chain of events that could only have been guided with the most holy and skilled of hands.
After finishing tenth grade, my father informed me we were going to be moving to another state in order for us to have our own house and a small piece of land. Unsurprisingly, I objected to this for a variety of reasons. One, I’d be leaving my lifelong friends and the place I’d called home. Two, we were moving from the Boston suburbs to the very definition of Boondocks. Oh and having to get acclimated to an entirely new high school wasn’t a plus on my list either!
If that wasn’t enough, our house wouldn’t be done until October and we currently found ourselves in June. Many, many, hotel stays and sleepovers with family would follow.
During this time, since I essentially had said goodbye to my friends, I was “stuck” with my parents for the summer. I love my parents to death and look back on the experience with tears in my eyes, but at the time, I was not a happy camper.
As an outlet for my imagination and an excuse to not talk to my parents as much, I would read anything I could get my hands on. I had always loved to read, so this was no problem and much of the hotel stays consisted of reading, swimming and attempting to persuade my father to let me order video games on the TV.
One particularly dreary day I found myself sprawled on a chair in the hotel lobby. I was feeling awfully sorry for myself and was beginning to think of my new school a little to much for my relaxed tastes. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a Times magazine. Since it was something to do, I snatched it up and began to half-heartedly flip through it’s pages.
After sighing because the magazine didn’t appear to have anything interesting to read inside, I was about to put it down when I spotted something about the 'end times'. I was vaguely aware of the end times and it’s relationship to the Bible but had always been intrigued by it. It had caught my attention and I read on.
Ten minutes later, my head was spinning. Apparently, there was a series of books about the end times and it was based off of the Bible’s teachings. The article also stated that we were currently in what was believed to be the end times and something called the rapture would clear out all believers in anticipation of the coming 'tribulation'.
I couldn’t tell you if I believed it or not at the time, but I can tell you that those books now had my undivided attention. I did not stop harping my parents until I had secured a ride to the bookstore, purchased the first two books and was comfortably positioned and reading them.
Like many before me (and after), the Left Behind books opened my eyes. It led me to stumble upon the Rapture Ready website, where I read up on being saved, what it meant and how my life would be changed forever.
I had made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as my savior earlier in the day, but didn’t feel right doing it until it was just He and I. That night, while lying down on a couch, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and cleansed myself of my sins thanks to His Sacrifice. I immediately felt different. It’s hard to explain but those of you who have experienced it know. I equate that exact moment as to when I was fully aware of the presence of The Holy Spirit. Everything in my life suddenly made sense and my petty squabbles about moving and leaving my friends were laughable. This life was just temporary -- I was in store for an eternity of paradise with my Lord and Savior as well as my brothers and sisters through Him.
After asking for forgiveness and accepting Jesus as my Savior, I went on to talk aloud to him for several hours. I told Him everything and expressed my gratitude of how I was guided to salvation. It was at that moment that I knew that everything happened for a reason.
We ended up only living in the new state for a little over a year and a half. All of that trouble and we just packed up and moved back home. In retrospect, both of my parents agree with my when I state that I believe the entire process of moving and all the troubles that went with it only happened because it was necessary for me to become born-again. If we hadn’t moved, I never would have been in that hotel and able to read that magazine. Sure, I could have come to salvation through another way but I am a firm believer that you are guided towards salvation should your heart choose to accept it and everything that happened during that time -- when I look back on it still brings wonder to my eyes.
We truly are the children of a loving, caring Father who wants nothing else but for us to be cleansed of our sins. While it shouldn’t surprise us that He can so eloquently pull the strings to set certain events into action, it is still beautiful and touching to experience.
To this day, I often experience things -- big and small that reminds me that the Lord is still watching over us. He is all powerful and does according to His will. So the next time you experience something that makes you wonder if everything happens for a reason, know that it does and treasure that moment -- for it is one of the few instances where we can be assured we are in the presence of the Lord.
God Bless.