Kelly
06-03-2008, 01:03 AM
Growing up, my family went to church every Sunday. I was baptized when I was just 6 years old. I had always believed there was a God. Sadly, that's about as far as my relationship with Him went. I knew He was there. However, it was the most unlikely of incidents that led me to have a real relationship with Him.
My senior year of high school I started dating a guy. We dated for about a year and a half, but college and his extremely controlling nature drove us apart. We tried to have a friendship after we broke up, but he continued to feel that he could control me, so I broke off all ties with him completely. Fast forward a few years and a mutual friend of ours was getting married. I don't drive so I asked a friend of mine to give me a ride to the wedding. As it turned out, he was also giving a ride to my ex. I decided to be a big person and just accept it. It was SOOOO awkward - at first. We didn't say a word to each other the entire way to the wedding. At the reception, we started the "small talk" session. Then he went to the DJ and requested our song and we danced. It was really nice, but I was still VERY guarded because of our past. After the wedding we went to a cafe. My friend went in to order, leaving my ex and I out on the patio. He told me he thought of me often and hoped that my life was going well and that he hoped we could start emailing each other again. So we did. In his first email to me, he told me about this group, Campus Crusade for Christ, that he was involved in at his school and he said he highly recommended that I check it out on my campus. The very next day I was on campus and sure enough, Campus Crusade for Christ had a table out advertising and inviting people to join. I joined the group that day and even though I've graduated, I'm still involved with the group as much as I can be. It turned my life around completely! It took me from believing in God to KNOWING God. Unfortunately, the same stuff started coming up between my ex and I, so I broke off all ties with him once again. But I will forever be grateful for that awkward day that changed my life forever!
And since becoming a part of this awesome ministry, I have gone from knowing God, to finally having a real relationship with Him! My first Jeremy Camp concert was a night I will never forget! It had been a rough day leading up to the show, but I was ready to finally get to the worship part of the night....to just forget everything and praise God for all that He had done in my life. Now I had never been the person who throws their hands up while singing. I see people at church do it all the time though, and I always thought "Man I want that feeling, that passion...how do I get that?" Well I got it that night! It was the middle of the concert and he played the Hallelujah Chorus (at least that's what I call it :p) and then went into You Never Let Go. That moment was so powerful, I literally felt God's presence! J started out softly with Hallelujah, and when he went into You Never Let Go, he got more into it and the more he got into it, the more I got into it...next thing I knew, my arms flew up and I started bawling! It was amazing!!! I've been a completely changed person since then! I constantly have this fire in me to read the Bible, to pray, to worship, to just talk with God, and to learn more about Him and His plans for my life....I love it! And I am so grateful that J has given so much of himself so that I could have that experience!
My senior year of high school I started dating a guy. We dated for about a year and a half, but college and his extremely controlling nature drove us apart. We tried to have a friendship after we broke up, but he continued to feel that he could control me, so I broke off all ties with him completely. Fast forward a few years and a mutual friend of ours was getting married. I don't drive so I asked a friend of mine to give me a ride to the wedding. As it turned out, he was also giving a ride to my ex. I decided to be a big person and just accept it. It was SOOOO awkward - at first. We didn't say a word to each other the entire way to the wedding. At the reception, we started the "small talk" session. Then he went to the DJ and requested our song and we danced. It was really nice, but I was still VERY guarded because of our past. After the wedding we went to a cafe. My friend went in to order, leaving my ex and I out on the patio. He told me he thought of me often and hoped that my life was going well and that he hoped we could start emailing each other again. So we did. In his first email to me, he told me about this group, Campus Crusade for Christ, that he was involved in at his school and he said he highly recommended that I check it out on my campus. The very next day I was on campus and sure enough, Campus Crusade for Christ had a table out advertising and inviting people to join. I joined the group that day and even though I've graduated, I'm still involved with the group as much as I can be. It turned my life around completely! It took me from believing in God to KNOWING God. Unfortunately, the same stuff started coming up between my ex and I, so I broke off all ties with him once again. But I will forever be grateful for that awkward day that changed my life forever!
And since becoming a part of this awesome ministry, I have gone from knowing God, to finally having a real relationship with Him! My first Jeremy Camp concert was a night I will never forget! It had been a rough day leading up to the show, but I was ready to finally get to the worship part of the night....to just forget everything and praise God for all that He had done in my life. Now I had never been the person who throws their hands up while singing. I see people at church do it all the time though, and I always thought "Man I want that feeling, that passion...how do I get that?" Well I got it that night! It was the middle of the concert and he played the Hallelujah Chorus (at least that's what I call it :p) and then went into You Never Let Go. That moment was so powerful, I literally felt God's presence! J started out softly with Hallelujah, and when he went into You Never Let Go, he got more into it and the more he got into it, the more I got into it...next thing I knew, my arms flew up and I started bawling! It was amazing!!! I've been a completely changed person since then! I constantly have this fire in me to read the Bible, to pray, to worship, to just talk with God, and to learn more about Him and His plans for my life....I love it! And I am so grateful that J has given so much of himself so that I could have that experience!