Before Jesus Changed My Life
I grew up in the church until 9th grade, but I never had a relationship or any spiritual rhythms outside of Sunday. Also in high school, I put my whole identity into football, which led me to put God even more to the side. This is where most of my sin struggles came like anger, idolizing success and sexual immorality. My senior year was full of guilt and shame and I believed I couldn’t be loved by God and ”I was too far gone.”College came, and I broke my tibia in football on the 3rd day of camp my freshman year. My life came crashing down because that at the time is what I spent the last 6 years of my life devoted to. That led to a downward spiral into those sins even more and also trying to find comfort in drinking, smoking and partying at every opportunity I had. I felt completely lost and alone because it never filled the emptiness.
How Jesus Changed My Life
After I broke my tibia and found out I’d be out for the season, my Dad mentioned that football wasn’t my identity and God had better plans for me. It took me a year of being in sin to truly understand how desperate I was in need of God to work a miracle in my life because I fail time and time again on my own. One of my closer friends at Coe Barron Lenz continued to invite me to Salt after I turned him down many times all throughout freshman year. God spoke to me through the first Salt I attended and revealed himself to me. I understood that we’re all sinners and that no sin can outdo the grace God has for us and undo the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I kept going to Salt, and once again Barron and Jordan helped me get registered and go to the Salt Conference in 2024, the last day registration was open. There that was when everything clicked through the last worship on Sunday morning. God showed me this is where I was supposed to be, a part of his Kingdom with a community of believers all united through him.
My Life After Jesus Saved Me
Since Conference last year I’ve truly understood the Gospel and the importance of community. I now have no urge to drink or smoke to the point where I get nauseous. I understand that I’m not perfect but that Christ is and he died for all sins including mine that I tried to fix and hide on my own so many times before, and that his love and grace are the same on my best days but also on my worst. God has blessed me with a renewed mind and heart. He has given me the opportunity to hop on leadership and put on my heart a burden for the lost among the nations as I once was. Since Conference 2025 earlier this year he has called me to go overseas with the Salt East Asia Summer Team. But one of the biggest he has allowed me to truly give him my burden and pain from family brokenness in my biological family. I now truly know I have eternal life not because of my works, but through Christ because he died for my sins, washed me white, and only he continues to change my life!