Before Jesus Changed My Life
Before Jesus changed my life, I lived in a place of brokenness I didn’t fully understand. I blamed my past for my present, believing that what I experienced growing up defined who I was. I longed for love and attention from the people who were supposed to give it, and when I didn’t receive it, I looked for it elsewhere. I acted out in harmful ways, trying to fill a need I couldn’t even name at the time. As I got older, I kept living from that same place. I blamed my past for my choices and my struggles, convincing myself my circumstances excused my actions. I believed materialistic items would fill voids, outside appearance was important, and I believed my worth came from what others thought of me. I blamed, judged, and sinned. I searched for acceptance and approval from others because I just didn’t know God.
I had also convinced myself I was already saved. I was baptized as a baby, confirmed as a teenager, and surrounded by my grandparents’ faith. But I didn’t truly understand what it meant to live as a follower of Christ. It wasn’t until Jesus saved me that I finally understood the truth: I didn’t need acceptance from anyone else. I didn’t have to be defined by my past. I needed Christ alone. And apart from Him, nothing I tried could ever truly fix what was broken.
How Jesus Changed My Life
God used a season of loss to draw me to Himself and to finally confront everything I had been carrying from my past. My grandparents’ lives and their faith played a big role in that. They were strong, faithful Christians, deeply involved in the church and their ministries. When I spoke to my grandma often, she would ask if I was attending church and remind me that she was praying for me. For a long time, I believed their faith was enough to save me. I thought that because of their faithfulness and devotion, I was okay. I didn’t understand that salvation can’t be inherited or assumed, it has to be personal. When my grandma passed away, I felt deep sadness, but also a peace I had never known before. I knew she was with her Savior. Out of our large family, I was given her Bible, and God used that moment to begin breaking down everything I thought I knew about myself. As I started reading it, something unexpected happened. I found myself relating to the words in a way I couldn’t explain. It felt like the Bible was reading me. No matter what I was going through, God’s Word spoke to me.
Galatians 5:16 resonated with me “walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”
I finally saw that all my attempts to “fix” myself had failed because I had been trying to heal myself apart from Christ. I healed myself before with items in the flesh, materialistic items, and objects that mean nothing. I was empty and knew nothing before letting the holy spirit into me, and desiring so much more than the flesh.
My Life After Jesus Saved Me
Since placing my faith in Jesus, my life looks completely different because God is first. I wake up and pray. I open my Bible and read every day. I don’t just learn God’s word, I live it out in my daily life. I feel calmer and more grounded, not because life is perfect, but because my foundation is different. Romans 3:23 reminds me, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” I know I am a sinner, but I am no longer blind to my sin or excusing it. Instead, I’m learning to walk in repentance and grace. A significant part of my growth has come through Veritas. Being part of a church that truly centers everything on God’s Word has strengthened my faith and my walk with Christ. It has reshaped my understanding of worship so that it’s no longer about me, it’s about honoring God. I’m more open now, and I pray that the Holy Spirit speaks through me in my conversations, something my youngest daughter once shared with me that deeply humbled me. It changed how I approach talking about faith. Philippians 2 reminds me that it’s God working in me, shaping my heart and my choices for His purpose so I can be a light in this world. And I’ve learned that a joyful heart really is good medicine. It flows from humility, compassion, and letting Him change me from the inside out. In Matthew 6:33–34, Jesus says to seek first the kingdom of God and trust to Him with each day rather than worrying about tomorrow. I am not perfect. I am still growing. But I know this with certainty: because of Jesus, not because of anything I have done, but because of what He has done for me, I have eternal life. As John 3:16 says, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”
I am encouraged and challenged by Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:1-6 “walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love, diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope at your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.”