(pictured on right)
I was born along with my twin brother, Jon, into a church-going family. As children, we attended church with our family and learned about God through many familiar Old Testament stories. For as long as I remember, I called myself a Christian.
By the time my brother and I were four, our parents were divorced. My mom gained custody of both my brother and me. We grew up living with our mom and visited our dad every other weekend and over vacations. We still attended church occassionally; however growing up was difficult.
I grew up often feeling neglected and unloved. I questioned often how God could break up the family unit that I considered so ideal. Life was difficult whether the time was spent at my mom’s or at my dad’s with our stepmom (and kid sister who was born while I was in middle school). Inside I longed to grow up faster so that I could build my own “ideal” family. Because of that goal, I placed all my effort into academics. My hope was to gain happiness in a secure future through academic achievement.
The desire to study fervently only increased when college started. During my freshman year, I was really driven, even to the point of forsaking hanging out with friends in order to have more time to study (when most freshmen hadn’t started taking college seriously yet). I quit going to church, and I was further motivated by my disappointment that I had “only” made it to UCLA. What I didn’t know was that God would use the time at UCLA to change my life.
I decided to check out Grace on Campus during my sophomore year. It might have been that I felt compelled to go back to church since I had gone all my life before college. There were some faithful friends who urged me to go as well. And the Lord started to work. I began to see the truth of my sinfulness before God when my small group leader led me through Romans. I began to understand the worthless nature of my pursuits, and that I had a much greater need in my life to address—that of salvation. Through the ministry of Grace on Campus through Grace Community Church, I became convinced that I needed a Savior in Jesus Christ.
As a sinner who ran away from the Lord’s calling for so long, I take great joy now in knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He paid for my sins while I was yet ungodly and has created a new heart in me—one that longs to worship and honor God and make His gospel known. That’s my highest joy since coming to know of God’s magnanimous grace!
I was born along with my twin brother, Jon, into a church-going family. As children, we attended church with our family and learned about God through many familiar Old Testament stories. For as long as I remember, I called myself a Christian.
By the time my brother and I were four, our parents were divorced. My mom gained custody of both my brother and me. We grew up living with our mom and visited our dad every other weekend and over vacations. We still attended church occassionally; however growing up was difficult.
I grew up often feeling neglected and unloved. I questioned often how God could break up the family unit that I considered so ideal. Life was difficult whether the time was spent at my mom’s or at my dad’s with our stepmom (and kid sister who was born while I was in middle school). Inside I longed to grow up faster so that I could build my own “ideal” family. Because of that goal, I placed all my effort into academics. My hope was to gain happiness in a secure future through academic achievement.
The desire to study fervently only increased when college started. During my freshman year, I was really driven, even to the point of forsaking hanging out with friends in order to have more time to study (when most freshmen hadn’t started taking college seriously yet). I quit going to church, and I was further motivated by my disappointment that I had “only” made it to UCLA. What I didn’t know was that God would use the time at UCLA to change my life.
I decided to check out Grace on Campus during my sophomore year. It might have been that I felt compelled to go back to church since I had gone all my life before college. There were some faithful friends who urged me to go as well. And the Lord started to work. I began to see the truth of my sinfulness before God when my small group leader led me through Romans. I began to understand the worthless nature of my pursuits, and that I had a much greater need in my life to address—that of salvation. Through the ministry of Grace on Campus through Grace Community Church, I became convinced that I needed a Savior in Jesus Christ.
As a sinner who ran away from the Lord’s calling for so long, I take great joy now in knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He paid for my sins while I was yet ungodly and has created a new heart in me—one that longs to worship and honor God and make His gospel known. That’s my highest joy since coming to know of God’s magnanimous grace!