Before Jesus Changed My Life
As a kid, I grew up in the church. I went to church every Sunday with my family. Once I got to middle school, my parents stopped going to church regularly. Middle school was also the year I was introduced to Youth group by my brother. Every Wednesday, I would ride with my brother to Youth group. The point of the Youth group was to learn more about God, fellowship with one another, and to worship Him. I, however, was young and would go to youth group for all the wrong reasons. I wouldn’t go to worship God. I wouldn’t go to learn about him. I simply went for the girls and the food.
In middle school, my church was affiliated with a church camp called Summer Games University (SGU). It was a week-long summer camp for youth between the ages 12-18. SGU’s purpose was for the Youth to grow closer to the people in their huddle group, fellowship, and worship the Lord. I did do some of that, but my intentions were different. I would go to SGU for the girls, the games, and the fun. However, for the first 4 years, I neglected to worship the Lord and have a better relationship with Him.
Growing up as a teenager, I struggled with lust. I was addicted to watching pornography. At the time, I didn’t realize it was a sin to do those things so I never really felt convicted for doing it. I kept doing it until I realized that It was extremely dishonorable to God.
Going into my senior year, I went back to SGU, for my 4th time. I was put into my huddle and immediately started to have feelings for this one girl. We dated for about one year and even went to SGU the following year together. That year was particularly hard for me. In my relationship with her, I struggled with honoring God, falling into lust, idolizing her, and leaving my walk with God behind.
How Jesus Changed My Life
Coming back to SGU for my 5th year, I would wander away from my huddle constantly. The only thought in my mind that whole week was, “Is my girlfriend going to dump me?” We were stuck in a rough patch, and I feared with SGU coming up, the timing was right. It was Tuesday morning when I told my huddle leader, Kaden Schilling, about the situation that my girlfriend and I were in. He was brutally honest with me. He told me that it was a toxic relationship. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear at the moment, but I knew it needed to be said, I would go on to hate my huddle leader for a day. I went to my dorm room later that night, and I prayed to God asking Him to give me an answer or a sign of what I should do. It wasn’t until Thursday night Worship when I walked out and I got in a conversation with another camper. He was in a similar situation as me and asked me, “Are you ready to let go and give your life to Christ?” It was at that moment, that the Holy Spirit spoke to me, and He said, “Ty, you need to get out of this relationship. Once you do, you will strive for far greater things.” That night was the night I surrendered to Christ. After SGU ended, the breakup happened, and immediately I felt a burden lift off of me. Once it ended, I put all my time, dedication, and faith into God.
My Life After Jesus Saved Me
Later that summer, I was introduced to a college ministry called Salt Company by my friend Mario Crisp. I fell in love with Salt immediately. I would go on Thursday and I met some of the greatest people who are now even some of my closest friends today. I then proceeded to go to church every Sunday by myself at Veritas in Cedar Rapids. One night in Manchester, Salt company was having a gathering up there. I saw my huddle leader Kaden Schilling and went up to him. I asked him how he was doing, and after we talked for a while, he then proceeded to ask me, “Are you being discipled by anyone?” I replied, “No, I am not.” After that night, Kaden offered to disciple me and I joyfully took his offer. If I weren’t in Manchester that night, my life would have been completely different. I then proceeded to meet with Kaden every week up until today. We went through books of the Bible, including Mark, Ephesians, and Acts. I’ve learned a lot from Kaden and have gained a lot of knowledge and wisdom from the Bible. Being discipled has changed my life a lot more than you think. Before and during this change, I was still immature, easy to anger, impatient, and not humble. Through my walk with God, I was able to experience treating people like Jesus would. Honoring and glorifying the Lord every day of my life empowered me to be patient, kind, and intentional. After self-reflecting, I saw that if I were still in that relationship, I would not have given my life to God at all. I am very blessed and thankful that the relationship happened, however, I am more glad that the Holy Spirit spoke into my life and changed me for the better. If that never happened, I wouldn’t be who, where, and how I am today. I am saved, changed, blessed, and loved by His grace and mercy. From this journey of life, I am proud to testify today that I am a child of God.