My Faith Journey: 1995-2013

Good afternoon everyone,

I wanted to take the time today to go through and talk about my faith journey and just how many twists and turns it has taken within the past few years, and how it has made me a better person.

I've gone to church my entire life and attended weekly faith formation classes all the way until I was a senior in high school. To me, church was boring and I really just went through the motions of everything. I guess you could say I was a Sunday Catholic, where I would go to church on Sundays and that was it. I didn't really pray or have any relationship with God, and nothing really interested me about faith until my sophomore year in high school.

I was friends with a couple of people who said they were putting on an ACTS retreat in the summer, and they told me that I would be the perfect candidate to go because they knew I would love it. Blindsided, I said yes and they gave me the paperwork. I was excited to go until I realized that I probably couldn't pay for it. I gave back the forms to my friends and explained to them the financial situation that my family was going through. My friends quickly told me that money shouldn't keep me from attending this retreat, so they worked their magic and I was able to attend the retreat on a scholarship. They did that for me, and that opened up the door to a new level of my faith.

That weekend 3 years ago changed my life. It changed my outlook on life, my faith, and all the people I love. I've never felt more loved than when I did on that retreat. I made so many new friends from other towns and friendships that I still have to do this day. I found God that weekend. I found Him in my heart, in the smiles I saw, in the love that was shared, in every hug, and in every song of praise and worship. I came back with a fire in my soul, and it was just the most amazing feeling.

My ACTS family soon became some of the most important people in my life, and they still are. The friendships I've made by allowing Christ to be at the center of it are truly the ones I treasure the most.

I was able to attend 2 more retreats after that, but this time on the team that put on everything. Those two summers was amazing to see us bring Jesus into the hearts of others, and it is one of my greatest memories of high school. I was even lucky enough to attend last year's retreat with my little brother, it was so special to have him there with me. ACTS changed my life, and it helped me create a relationship with God in a way I couldn't have imagined.

I've learned of how merciful He is, because nothing could be bad enough to separate you from Him. I learned that He's loving, and all your flaws don't matter to Him because He made you perfectly. I learned how wonderful He is, because He is the creator of all things on this earth, and that just makes me smile.

After my last ACTS retreat last summer, my heart was so happy and filled with the Holy Spirit, and I was prepared to take that with me to college in the fall. I was confident that I was going to be able to keep my faith going strong and grow even more, something I didn't even think was possible. However, it wasn't an easy road. The first 18 years of my life, I found my faith. And in the past year, I was tested.

To be continued...