As a child, I was blessed to have been brought up in a Christian home. My parents enrolled me in a Christian school from preschool until 8th grade and every Sunday we would attend church together. Growing up, I was surrounded by other believers and was taught the Gospel message. Since the beginning of Sunday School, I had always been taught that God is good and that if I believed that Jesus died for me then I would go to heaven. At that time, I had a very shallow understanding of what sin is and why I even needed a Savior. Yet, by God’s grace, I understood that I needed Him in my life. Over the years, through the many Sunday School lessons and chapel times at school, I came to learn more about the depth of my sins and my ultimate need for forgiveness. As I learned more about how holy God is and how much my sin offended Him, God drew my heart to Him and showed me that I needed Him.
I accepted Christ as my Savior sometime in my elementary school years, but my faith was shallow and I did not understand what it meant to live for Christ. Although I had attended a Christian school for over 10 years, I did not have a strong grasp of what the Christian life looked like. As I entered high school, sin began to take a larger hold of my life. I knew truth but did not live it out: conforming to worldly standards all the while still claiming to be a Christian. My life failed to reflect a life of obedience that Christ has called us to.
Around the end of my junior year of high school, I was no longer able to ignore the consequences of my continued disobedience and broke down in tears. But God was so gracious to me and brought His love into clear focus in my life. In His mercy, God repaired my broken relationships and taught me forgiveness. He revealed to me the stubbornness of my heart to surrender my life to Him and softened it so that I would come to know Him more and run from the ways of the world. Through the next year, God continued to use my relationships to encourage me and push me towards living a more Christ-centered life.
Starting college at UCLA, I checked out some Christian fellowships and God brought me to Grace on Campus where He once again humbled me and showed me where sin continued to linger in my life. It was there that God opened my eyes to truly understand what living out the Christian faith looked like. I was convicted to see so many believers around me that truly love the Lord and live their lives for Christ daily. In the following 4 years at Grace on Campus and attending Grace Community Church, God has continued to show me what a faithful and loving God He is. Each day, He shows me more of His love and care in my life, teaching me to desire His truth more and to pursue the things that please Him.
With each passing day, I am more thankful for each blessing He has given me. I rejoice in my salvation and am humbled to my knees when I think upon the cross and how He chose to save me even though I did not and do not deserve it. I am grateful for all that God has done in me to mature me and set my sights on Him. Knowing that despite my sinfulness, God has given me grace in salvation and continues to love and watch over me, I can do nothing more than offer Him the praise that He so greatly deserves.
I accepted Christ as my Savior sometime in my elementary school years, but my faith was shallow and I did not understand what it meant to live for Christ. Although I had attended a Christian school for over 10 years, I did not have a strong grasp of what the Christian life looked like. As I entered high school, sin began to take a larger hold of my life. I knew truth but did not live it out: conforming to worldly standards all the while still claiming to be a Christian. My life failed to reflect a life of obedience that Christ has called us to.
Around the end of my junior year of high school, I was no longer able to ignore the consequences of my continued disobedience and broke down in tears. But God was so gracious to me and brought His love into clear focus in my life. In His mercy, God repaired my broken relationships and taught me forgiveness. He revealed to me the stubbornness of my heart to surrender my life to Him and softened it so that I would come to know Him more and run from the ways of the world. Through the next year, God continued to use my relationships to encourage me and push me towards living a more Christ-centered life.
Starting college at UCLA, I checked out some Christian fellowships and God brought me to Grace on Campus where He once again humbled me and showed me where sin continued to linger in my life. It was there that God opened my eyes to truly understand what living out the Christian faith looked like. I was convicted to see so many believers around me that truly love the Lord and live their lives for Christ daily. In the following 4 years at Grace on Campus and attending Grace Community Church, God has continued to show me what a faithful and loving God He is. Each day, He shows me more of His love and care in my life, teaching me to desire His truth more and to pursue the things that please Him.
With each passing day, I am more thankful for each blessing He has given me. I rejoice in my salvation and am humbled to my knees when I think upon the cross and how He chose to save me even though I did not and do not deserve it. I am grateful for all that God has done in me to mature me and set my sights on Him. Knowing that despite my sinfulness, God has given me grace in salvation and continues to love and watch over me, I can do nothing more than offer Him the praise that He so greatly deserves.