I grew up in the church, but I really didnt become a Christian until about three years ago. Why the distinction? Well, I had a pretty vast knowledge of GodIm a voracious reader, and Id read the Bible through a couple times by age 20, plus a large amount of Christian literature. I knew I was a sinner. I believed that Jesus died and rose again. I just didnt trust Him. I thought the only one who could manage my life with any success was me. But, as it turns out, trying to maintain control caused me to come to my late teens in a state of depression and fear. I realized something wasnt working, and I thought it might be my faith, so I undertook a research project. I did a comparative study of major world religions, trying to figure out which one had the highest probability of bringing me peace. My conclusion? Christianity made the most sense (not that I was biased or anything. . .). I started to see that people like Moses or Jeremiah or Paul found their fulfillment in their relationship with, and reliance on, God. I saw that this didnt make them weak (they already were), it gave them strength and peace. God began putting me in situations where I could choose to trust him or not. When I saw that He came through for me in small matters, I began trusting Him in bigger and bigger matters. You know, Hes never let me down. I put my official birth date in August of 2000, because I was placed in a situation where I made a pivotal choice to trust Gods way over my own understanding. But the truth of the matter is that He has worked on me my entire life, slowly and patiently drawing me to Him. Now that Im His, He continues to slowly and patiently refine me. Im very stubborn, you see 
