Although I was baptized at 9, I didn’t understand what it meant to be saved. I only remember walking down the isle because I was supposed to. As I grew into my late teens I began to live two very different lives. I had my church life where everyone thought I was a good person and I had my other life where I thought I could do whatever I wanted and still be OK. I looked for fulfillment in friends and sports and did not think there was anything wrong with going to nightclubs and drinking. When I would get home and lay in my bed, wondering how I got there, it never occurred to me that God had a plan for my life.

One night at a party, I passed out and woke up in a very bad place. It was then I realized that the double life I had been living was sinful. I realized that I needed God to help me turn away from the sinful life I had been living. I asked Jesus to come into my heart and immediately I felt like a great weight had been lifted off of me. I finally understood what my parents had been trying to teach me, that Jesus was God’s Son who came to earth to live a sinless life and die on a cross for me, and so believing, I can have eternal life after death and a rewarding life while on earth.

After I gave my heart to Jesus I was able to stop living that double life. God has blessed me with a beautiful family, a good job and many opportunities to serve Him through worship, teaching, coaching and missions. God even gave me the courage to go through Believers Baptism. I still struggle with sin but now I find my fulfillment in Him and my family and I no longer have to hide a different life.