So I saw this after I posted in the "For New Christians" section, but I didn't really go into detail there, so I suppose it's okay if I post here too.
I grew up in a non-religious household. I was baptized Catholic, as my parents were both raised that way, but they fell away from it once they were old enough to make the decision for themselves; or when my dad turned 18 and went away to college- his mom was a devout Roman Catholic Italian woman). My mom's side of the family was less religious- prayed at meals, etc but more out of "tradition" than faith. But my mom still believes in God. I was raised to have liberal beliefs- which I do not think is necessarily wrong or bad. We were taught that everyone is to be respected for their various beliefs even if you don't agree with them, and it's good to be nice to everyone.
Fast forward to about a few months ago. I started a relationship with a Christian guy. He is NOT the reason that I became one myself, but his being in my life definitely raised a lot of questions for me. In the past year or so I've made friends with many Christian people, as well. So I started having to think about stuff I just never considered before. And I was curious and interested. About a month ago, my boyfriend and I had a disagreement over something I did. Something that I do all the time, not just to him (a personality thing, nothing like drugs or booze or anything). So we took some time apart and in that time, I really reconsidered a lot of stuff about my life. I started reading the Bible and found that it just really spoke to me, and that everything Jesus said (and Paul and others) just made so much sense, like common sense stuff that I had known all along. So since then, my boyfriend and I got back together, but we haven't spent as much time together for various reasons (trips out of town, etc). So I had the opportunities to go to our Community Group (Bible study) by myself, as well as attend church alone. And I never really discussed my thoughts with him, because he has kind of had his own things to deal with. I had also been reading "Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis and so much of that book just made sense. And I appreciated where he was coming from, as a very academic person myself. And yesterday in church, it just kinda clicked. I felt so connected to everything going on around me. So this morning, I just sat and prayed and accepted Jesus into my heart. For a few minutes everything got very silent and my brain sort of shut off- there were no anxious thoughts, no doubts, no fears, absolutely nothing. And it was great.
So I didn't start seizing or speak in tongues or anything like that, but I felt very sincere in the moment, and I suppose that's what counts. I have yet to tell anyone, but I did send my boyfriend an email- I wanted to call him, but he was at work and I couldn't wait until this evening when he gets off. Probably not the best venue, but I told him to call me later so we could talk. I know that it does not seal our relationship and that our relationship is not the top priority. And there are plenty of other people I need to tell- but they're all working (I have the day off)! But with my boyfriend, I do hope that it will be something we can share and that we can help each other grow in God as we grow together.
I grew up in a non-religious household. I was baptized Catholic, as my parents were both raised that way, but they fell away from it once they were old enough to make the decision for themselves; or when my dad turned 18 and went away to college- his mom was a devout Roman Catholic Italian woman). My mom's side of the family was less religious- prayed at meals, etc but more out of "tradition" than faith. But my mom still believes in God. I was raised to have liberal beliefs- which I do not think is necessarily wrong or bad. We were taught that everyone is to be respected for their various beliefs even if you don't agree with them, and it's good to be nice to everyone.
Fast forward to about a few months ago. I started a relationship with a Christian guy. He is NOT the reason that I became one myself, but his being in my life definitely raised a lot of questions for me. In the past year or so I've made friends with many Christian people, as well. So I started having to think about stuff I just never considered before. And I was curious and interested. About a month ago, my boyfriend and I had a disagreement over something I did. Something that I do all the time, not just to him (a personality thing, nothing like drugs or booze or anything). So we took some time apart and in that time, I really reconsidered a lot of stuff about my life. I started reading the Bible and found that it just really spoke to me, and that everything Jesus said (and Paul and others) just made so much sense, like common sense stuff that I had known all along. So since then, my boyfriend and I got back together, but we haven't spent as much time together for various reasons (trips out of town, etc). So I had the opportunities to go to our Community Group (Bible study) by myself, as well as attend church alone. And I never really discussed my thoughts with him, because he has kind of had his own things to deal with. I had also been reading "Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis and so much of that book just made sense. And I appreciated where he was coming from, as a very academic person myself. And yesterday in church, it just kinda clicked. I felt so connected to everything going on around me. So this morning, I just sat and prayed and accepted Jesus into my heart. For a few minutes everything got very silent and my brain sort of shut off- there were no anxious thoughts, no doubts, no fears, absolutely nothing. And it was great.
So I didn't start seizing or speak in tongues or anything like that, but I felt very sincere in the moment, and I suppose that's what counts. I have yet to tell anyone, but I did send my boyfriend an email- I wanted to call him, but he was at work and I couldn't wait until this evening when he gets off. Probably not the best venue, but I told him to call me later so we could talk. I know that it does not seal our relationship and that our relationship is not the top priority. And there are plenty of other people I need to tell- but they're all working (I have the day off)! But with my boyfriend, I do hope that it will be something we can share and that we can help each other grow in God as we grow together.
