Whenever I tell my testimony, my heart is always overflowing with thankfulness because I know I was chosen from the darkness and brought into His wonderful light.  I did not grow up in a family that made church or the Lord a priority. I grew up going to a Catholic Church, and I never was told about a personal relationship with Christ until I was a freshman in high school. I was always a “good child,” but I had never heard or seen through others that Jesus was better and more than anything else. I know how important an older college leader can be on a young impressionable high school girl because I had a Younglife leader who invested in me and discipled me throughout my high school years. As I look back, I can see the drastic change in my lifestyle during that year, and there was no doubt to those around me that Jesus became the center of everything I did. I had a very legalistic faith in high school, and even though it helped me to stay out of trouble during high school when I was constantly surrounded by temptations, it enabled me to  understand freedom, grace, and His unconditional love for me.  In college, my faith grew tremendously because I no longer lived by a “rule system,” and the Lord blessed me with friends that could encourage and challenge me in my faith. I am still constantly learning more about who He is, how wonderful his plan is for me, and how He has used my past to shape me to work in His kingdom.
 
My current relationship with the Lord is growing. I have found that I hunger and thirst for His word each morning and love to start my day off by spending time with Him. I am learning more about what it means to be satisfied by the Lord and to enjoy Him. In the past few months, I have had amazing opportunities to participate in the Focus on the Family Institute, to take a trip to Israel, and to start my masters degree at Reformed Theological Seminary; through those experiences, I feel that my faith and knowledge of His word has increased tremendously.