I was born (alongside my twin brother, Jon) into a church-going family. As children, we attended church with our family and learned about God through Sunday school stories. For as long as I remember, I called myself a Christian. When 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 with our dad though our mom had stopped attending church.
I grew up often feeling neglected and unloved. I questioned often how God could break up the family that I considered so ideal. Life was difficult regardless of whether the time was spent at my mom’s or at my dad’s, who had re-married when my brother and I were eight years old. 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, and my hope was to somehow gain happiness in a secure future by means of academic achievement. The desire to attain worldly success only increased when I started college at UCLA. During my freshman year, I was driven to the point of forsaking time with friends in order to have more time to study. I also quit going to church, and by this point my beliefs dwindled to little more than a belief that I needed to pray to God every once in a while to sustain my road to success.
At the beginning of my sophomore year, I decided to visit a Bible study at school called Grace on Campus (GOC). 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. The Lord started to work. I began to see the truth of my sinfulness before a holy God when my small group leader led me through a study of the book of Romans. I began to understand the hopelessness of my pursuits, and that I had a much greater need in my life to address—that of knowing the Lord. Through the ministry of GOC and Grace Community Church, I became convinced that I needed a Savior in Jesus Christ, and I repented of my sins and received God’s saving grace.
Thereafter, I began to read and study God’s Word and get involved in ministry with my Bible study group. I grew a new hatred of sin and a desire for holiness that I learned came from the presence of the Holy Spirit. With new eyes, I became aware that my life has to be lived out to serve and glorify a holy God, Who alone created mankind and Who requires the obedience of His created people. Serving that loving God has become my highest joy.
I grew up often feeling neglected and unloved. I questioned often how God could break up the family that I considered so ideal. Life was difficult regardless of whether the time was spent at my mom’s or at my dad’s, who had re-married when my brother and I were eight years old. 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, and my hope was to somehow gain happiness in a secure future by means of academic achievement. The desire to attain worldly success only increased when I started college at UCLA. During my freshman year, I was driven to the point of forsaking time with friends in order to have more time to study. I also quit going to church, and by this point my beliefs dwindled to little more than a belief that I needed to pray to God every once in a while to sustain my road to success.
At the beginning of my sophomore year, I decided to visit a Bible study at school called Grace on Campus (GOC). 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. The Lord started to work. I began to see the truth of my sinfulness before a holy God when my small group leader led me through a study of the book of Romans. I began to understand the hopelessness of my pursuits, and that I had a much greater need in my life to address—that of knowing the Lord. Through the ministry of GOC and Grace Community Church, I became convinced that I needed a Savior in Jesus Christ, and I repented of my sins and received God’s saving grace.
Thereafter, I began to read and study God’s Word and get involved in ministry with my Bible study group. I grew a new hatred of sin and a desire for holiness that I learned came from the presence of the Holy Spirit. With new eyes, I became aware that my life has to be lived out to serve and glorify a holy God, Who alone created mankind and Who requires the obedience of His created people. Serving that loving God has become my highest joy.