i have many friends who can recall the exact day and moment when they accepted Christ into their heart. and they honor that day year after year like any other monumental anniversary. i’ve always harbored a little jealousy toward these people -i love that they get to celebrate the day their life changed forever.

i went to a private christian school for kindergarten. the same one, in fact, that i would attend again six years later. while there are a lot of little things i remember about mrs. svenson’s kindergarten class (i was one of the top readers and i was also extremely bossy, hmm, not much as changed?), the exact moment i became a Christian is unfortunately not one of them. i’m fairly certain i was a mature five-year-old, but even with all of that wherewithal, i don’t think i truly grasped the concept of having Jesus in my heart.

and then i went to public school for a few years. from first to fifth grade to be exact. and while i received an excellent education (shout out to mr. fernandes’ fourth grade class), it wasn’t exactly build around the Bible and its teachings. so when i returned to santa fe christian on that august day in 1995, it was a prodigal’s son sort of return for me and the faith. please don’t take this to mean that you can’t maintain a strong Christian faith while going through the public school system, only that in my personal experience, that wasn’t the case.

but perhaps where i could say that my faith truly became my own was during my bout with anorexia from about age 12 through 14. in my deepest, darkest moments, Jesus never left my side. He became my strength on the days where i had nothing left. He kept my hope alive with His promise found in phillipians 3:14, “i can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” 

and since my recovery, i have continued to cultivate my faith, deepening the relationship i share with my sweet Jesus. i’m by no means perfect in my Christian walk, but i’m learning more everyday the abundance of God’s grace and the unconditionality of His love. i am thankful for the freedom found in Christ. that i am valued and have a purpose and in realizing His fullness and goodness, i am daily becoming who and what i was created to be.

so today i am thankful for a Savior that loves me. who sacrificed Himself so that i may have life, and life abundantly.

for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -not by works, so that no one can boast | ephesians 2:8-9

image via: verily magazine.