His Story

Submitted by (anon, m, age 24)

I grew up in a solid family. I had two amazing parents that loved me beyond belief and an older brother who, despite his controlling demeanor, stood up for me when push came to shove. Even though I had an incredible family, I didn't have such an incredible social life. I tried to fit in, but everywhere I tried I simply didn't fit. I wasn't one of the popular kids, although I was an athlete. I wasn't a jock, I was way too "smart" for that. But I wasn't a egg-head because I didn't care about my school work that much.

I was just me.

I tried for three years to be everything but me, and those three years were the darkest years of my life. I'd come home after school with a smile on my face, have dinner with my family and tell them how great of a day I had, then go upstairs to "do my homework," which often consisted of thoughts of suicide and crying myself to sleep. My family had no idea the hurt that was plaguing my heart.

That all changed one day when my Mom made me go to youth group. For the first time ever I heard a different message. I wasn't told that I was a sinner, and I wasn't that Jesus should be my Savior... I already knew that. Somebody told me that God had a specific plan for my life, FOR ME. The plan had nothing to do with who I was, how I looked, or
how well I played, and had everything to do with Jesus loving me for who I was. That message changed my life. I finally felt like I belonged, that I was a part of something greater than me.

So I started seeking after God, learning as much about Him as I could. I still had a lot of struggles on this journey, but God helped me through. After about a year and a half of searching I was faced with a dilemma: do I keep living trying to please others and falling short, or do I leave that behind and follow a God who loves me even though I fall short. I decided that there was only one logical choice, one choice that made me happy: to follow God and seek His will for my
life.

Since that day, I've been running after God and I haven't looked back, because the things that I left behind only caused hurt and pain. All of those wounds that I held on to were healed. And even though more wounds were to come, even on my new journey, they would not over take me, they were healed far too quickly for that. Now that Jesus was leading the way, I found a life of purpose, a life of peace, and a life of love.

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