Before Jesus Changed My Life

I was raised Catholic and attended Catholic school. I was a practicing Catholic until about 20 years ago, and at that time I fell away from attending services at any Church. I have always been a believer in God, but I felt I was missing out on ‘something’. I didn’t feel I had a faith-filled life. In my mind, I was waiting for God to make this great appearance. Something like the moments that I hear other people experience…where was mine? When would it happen? I would go through periods of my life feeling that even though I wasn’t participating in a Church and I wasn’t a faith-filled person (God hadn’t come to me yet), that I was better than some of ‘those people’ that went to Church every week. ‘Those people’ included people that attended out of obligation, rather than desire. It included people that were abusive…be it drugs, drinking, or to family members. It included people who were unfaithful in their marriage. You get the picture. I thought I was better than them, and that had to be worth something.

How Jesus Changed My Life

When I began attending services at Veritas, I liked everything about the services. The messages from the Pastors gave me something to hold on to and think about all week. The music was an extension of our worship and reflective of the week’s message. I cannot wait to come to service each week, my knowledge and therefore my faith have grown in many ways. I now understand that God has been here the whole time, waiting for me to open my eyes and see Him. I now understand repentance and we are all sinners. There was a service several weeks back when Jake made the statement that Christ not only died for our sins to be forgiven, but to also wipe away the OFFENSE. It was a profound moment for me, and I think of it often. How often are we able to forgive someone AND wipe away the offense. That is love like no other.

My Life After Jesus Saved Me

I know my perspective of people and situations has changed, I know I don’t judge people as I have in the past. I find myself being that voice of a different, more faithful perspective. I also find my first thoughts being of God and going to God in thanks, in need, and praying for others. A few weeks ago, I was having dinner with a couple of friends. One of my friends was sharing that a friend of hers recently passed away. She saw him a couple weeks prior to him passing away, the first time in over a year. When she saw him, he shared with her that he had turned his life away from sin and accepted Jesus Christ as his savior. My brain immediately popped with Praise God! It was a true moment for me. My brain wasn’t specifically thinking, oh you should say Praise God - it was an immediate, spontaneous thought, a thought of His wonderful work.

The knowledge of eternal life through Jesus Christ is what keeps me from being completely despondent at the thought of dying. We all do, it is inevitable. I am 57 years old and am loving life. My family is the love of my life and the thought of not being physically present can hurt at times…but the knowledge of eternal life strengthens me to know my death is not the end, it’s the beginning of a glorious hereafter. I also know my family will have spiritual guidance and love through their faith as well.