[[Hello! My name is Laurel. I just wanted to show how living your faith out loud affects others without you even knowing!! This is my testimony.]]
I was baptized as a Freshman in High school. In Jesus's parable of the seeds falling, I was like the seed that fell into the thorns. I grew a little, then got choked out.
I live in a non-christian family and I had a non-christian boyfriend back then. I kept up with the "basic commandments", but forgot about the love Jesus had put in my heart. I gave into temptations... and ignored any guilt until it simply vanished.
Jesus became just a name I brought up only when it benefited me. I only prayed when situations got really bad, and I mostly relied on my own 'wisdom'. I went to youth group, but only to see friends and to sing in front of everyone on the worship team. I had everyone fooled- even myself! By my Junior year, I didn't understand why my life was so miserable, and I was chasing all of the wrong desires- boys, popularity, beauty..
However, this whole time, I managed to convince others I was a devoted Christian (although I wouldn't even pick up a bible for months at a time!!)
I move a lot, and my senior year, I moved to Louisiana. I was at an all time low during this move! With the stress from my dad's constant hate, I even cut my own wrist. Hardly enough to break the skin, but I was far from christ. I started out the summer in Louisiana with all the wrong people. I wrote down some goals for my new school year. They were:
1) Make friends fast! Get invited to parties!
2) Be confident
3) Get a boyfriend
4) Live the teenage dream!
5) Be seen as a good, christian girl
How contradicting is that?? I really should have said "to grow in faith" or "to glorify God", but I just wanted to impress people.
But things were working out just as I had planned. I was getting invited to parties, I was confident around people, and I had a boyfriend (I didn't even like the guy! I just wanted to date him to impress people!)
A few weeks into school I switched one of my classes to guitar class. I met a guy in there, Chris. He was funny and kind, and I immediately became friends with him.
Chris was on the football team last season and I was on the cheerleading team. One day, on the bus ride back from a game, I got his number and texted him to tell him good job. We had lost the game, and he said he was going to give a speech in the locker room to encourage the team. I had heard from someone that he was a Christian, so I wanted to impress him. I said "I don't know if you are a Christian, but I'm praying for you!" Chris, responded "I am! I was just praying before the game, in fact."
Right there, I was shocked. Was this guy for real? I couldn't even remember the last time I had prayed.
Ever since that moment, I started paying more attention to Chris. I noticed he kept his bible in his backpack, how he was respectful to teachers, his kindness towards the special ed kids, and how often he spoke of church. I never saw any fault in his behavior, and it fascinated me.
Most people I knew who claimed "Christian" never spoke of their faith, never acted any different than everyone else. Chris was different, and I noticed.
I started to read my bible. Slowly at first. Then I started to go back to church, just on Sundays at first. He invited me to go to his youth group on Wednesdays, and I started attending that too.
The more I read, the more I went to church, the more I prayed, I started evaluating my own actions. I backed away from the friends who openly denied Christ, and I found fellowships. I stopped looking for opportunities to help myself, and started looking for ways to love others. I truly accepted Jesus back into my heart, and made a promise to never let him go for the sin that had led me into a downward spiral.
Everything is so much clearer now. Every day was a struggle, but now I wake up and go to bed content. I don't want for acceptance, boyfriends, or any of the material things I used to treasure.
Now that I've found my way back into God's arms, I see so many people in my past situation, claiming Jesus while loving sin.
Chris, to this day, has no clue how his actions led me to evaluate my own. He is still under the impression that I had Jesus in my heart before I met him.
My personal story goes to show how just one person, living the way Christ calls us to, can open eyes and lead to the changing of hearts. Don't be discouraged when you are the only one around who lives their faith out loud! You probably can't see it, but I promise you, someone is watching, someone like me, someone who just needs a reason to believe.
I was baptized as a Freshman in High school. In Jesus's parable of the seeds falling, I was like the seed that fell into the thorns. I grew a little, then got choked out.
I live in a non-christian family and I had a non-christian boyfriend back then. I kept up with the "basic commandments", but forgot about the love Jesus had put in my heart. I gave into temptations... and ignored any guilt until it simply vanished.
Jesus became just a name I brought up only when it benefited me. I only prayed when situations got really bad, and I mostly relied on my own 'wisdom'. I went to youth group, but only to see friends and to sing in front of everyone on the worship team. I had everyone fooled- even myself! By my Junior year, I didn't understand why my life was so miserable, and I was chasing all of the wrong desires- boys, popularity, beauty..
However, this whole time, I managed to convince others I was a devoted Christian (although I wouldn't even pick up a bible for months at a time!!)
I move a lot, and my senior year, I moved to Louisiana. I was at an all time low during this move! With the stress from my dad's constant hate, I even cut my own wrist. Hardly enough to break the skin, but I was far from christ. I started out the summer in Louisiana with all the wrong people. I wrote down some goals for my new school year. They were:
1) Make friends fast! Get invited to parties!
2) Be confident
3) Get a boyfriend
4) Live the teenage dream!
5) Be seen as a good, christian girl
How contradicting is that?? I really should have said "to grow in faith" or "to glorify God", but I just wanted to impress people.
But things were working out just as I had planned. I was getting invited to parties, I was confident around people, and I had a boyfriend (I didn't even like the guy! I just wanted to date him to impress people!)
A few weeks into school I switched one of my classes to guitar class. I met a guy in there, Chris. He was funny and kind, and I immediately became friends with him.
Chris was on the football team last season and I was on the cheerleading team. One day, on the bus ride back from a game, I got his number and texted him to tell him good job. We had lost the game, and he said he was going to give a speech in the locker room to encourage the team. I had heard from someone that he was a Christian, so I wanted to impress him. I said "I don't know if you are a Christian, but I'm praying for you!" Chris, responded "I am! I was just praying before the game, in fact."
Right there, I was shocked. Was this guy for real? I couldn't even remember the last time I had prayed.
Ever since that moment, I started paying more attention to Chris. I noticed he kept his bible in his backpack, how he was respectful to teachers, his kindness towards the special ed kids, and how often he spoke of church. I never saw any fault in his behavior, and it fascinated me.
Most people I knew who claimed "Christian" never spoke of their faith, never acted any different than everyone else. Chris was different, and I noticed.
I started to read my bible. Slowly at first. Then I started to go back to church, just on Sundays at first. He invited me to go to his youth group on Wednesdays, and I started attending that too.
The more I read, the more I went to church, the more I prayed, I started evaluating my own actions. I backed away from the friends who openly denied Christ, and I found fellowships. I stopped looking for opportunities to help myself, and started looking for ways to love others. I truly accepted Jesus back into my heart, and made a promise to never let him go for the sin that had led me into a downward spiral.
Everything is so much clearer now. Every day was a struggle, but now I wake up and go to bed content. I don't want for acceptance, boyfriends, or any of the material things I used to treasure.
Now that I've found my way back into God's arms, I see so many people in my past situation, claiming Jesus while loving sin.
Chris, to this day, has no clue how his actions led me to evaluate my own. He is still under the impression that I had Jesus in my heart before I met him.
My personal story goes to show how just one person, living the way Christ calls us to, can open eyes and lead to the changing of hearts. Don't be discouraged when you are the only one around who lives their faith out loud! You probably can't see it, but I promise you, someone is watching, someone like me, someone who just needs a reason to believe.
Last edited:
