I am and have always been that typical Christian girl. I grew up in the church, attended VBS events, summer camps, even did the Christian clubs at schools. I was that girl. Growing up in the church (and being educated in the church), was both beautiful and challenging. The memories with my childhood friends were so sweet because there was so much Jesus in our friendships. 

My FAITH STORY begins at one of my favorite memories. I was at Winter Camp, 1999. I vividly remember giving my life to Jesus in front of a campfire, the last night of camp. There was a Spirit moment during our worship around a camp fire, then our youth pastor shared his testimony of how God spared his life after falling off a cliff, at a location not too far from where we were. Then, we had a moment of reflection, when our lives end, when we meet our maker, will God know us? Will we have given our lives to Him, and will He embrace us in His kingdom? That was the moment that it clicked for me. We had the opportunity to write our most shameful sins on a piece of paper and nail it to a cross. So, I did. I didn’t hold back. I let Jesus in. It was that moment when I realized that I didn’t have to be perfect or hold it together for Jesus. He just wanted to love me. He wanted to embrace every part of my heart.  

I remember letting Jesus into the places of sin, hurt, and shame. That was the night that Jesus’s love became tangible in my heart. 

I remember being set ablaze. There was this hunger and excitement to know more about this amazing Jesus that I had encountered at camp. I remember the rest of the summer being dedicated to singing worship songs, and reading my bible, discovering God in new ways.  

I feel like every part of my life, Jesus is holding out His hand to me asking, “Are you ready for more?”. And every time, I reach out my hand and say, “Yes!”. God keeps honoring my “Yes”. He keeps leading me farther down the path of devotion. 

Why being a worshiper made it easy for me to say YES!