I started going to church when I was seven.  At first, it was because my cousins went, and I didn’t have anything better to do on Sundays.  Eventually though, I learned about God and began a relationship with Him.  Growing up in church, I watched as different people would come and go throughout the years.  I told myself that I wouldn’t be one of them, but by my senior year of high school, I had filled my life with so many other things that God and church had gotten bumped to the bottom of my list of priorities. 

 

I stopped going to church, and eventually decided to see what else the world had to offer.  I tried everything from hanging out with friends and partying to drugs and alcohol.  By mid-summer, I had tried just about everything I could think of, but I still felt empty.  All this searching, and the only thing I had done was destroy my health.  I decided I needed to stop before it got any worse. 

 

Near the end of summer, I was invited to go to a church camp by a friend.  It seemed like a better option than staying at home and doing nothing, so I decided to go.  During that week, we watched a video showing Christ being crucified.  During the video, I was reminded of a verse I had learned as a kid,

 

 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16

 

Here was Christ sacrificing his life to take the punishment for my wrongdoings, my sins!  As I watched the nails being driven into him, I was filled with conviction, and decided to rededicate my life to God that night. 

 

Living a life for God isn’t easy.  My life certainly hasn’t gotten any easier since then, with plenty of trials along the way.  However, the emptiness I felt in my life is now gone.  I still go through ups and downs like everyone else, but I have found lasting satisfaction and fulfillment in living for God and following Him.  It is my hope and prayer that you find that same lasting satisfaction and fulfillment through God.