| In November of 2001, something I had never imagined would happen did. Although I was a Christian, proud of it, that never meant my life was perfect. No no no, not by a long shot. We all fall short of the glory every day. No matter how hard you try, you will always find yourself having to humble yourself over and over and remember that God's grace is why we are saved. It's just how it is. Now anyways, I say that because my mom and I have always conflicted with each other sharply at one point or another. Our tempers had been flaring at each other for some time, and we needed a break from each other. So I was sent to live with my dad for a week. During that week, I cried SO much and had a lot of new questions enter my mind. Is this God's way of telling me that it's time to be with my dad? Should I consider going to Ash Grove for school if that's what it takes to be with my dad? What is going to happen if I flip my life completely around and start living in surroundings I never thought I'd live in? This time was extremely stressful and I had to come to God with it many many times. I really had no neutral person to turn to. Everyone I would talk to I knew would want me to either live with my dad or stay with my mom. I finally made the decision--and only because I felt it God's decision--to move. Through all the tears, leaving dear close Christian friends behind, leaving my mom's household behind, I started living with my dad. (Luckily...no not luck...thanks to God I still come over to my mom's house every other weekend and still see my Springfield friends on occasion.) I could see Jesus leading my life as I went through those months of what seemed like hell. He would give me a peace and assurance that everything would turn out alright, even when I wanted to back out sometimes and go back to the way things were. I knew that those days never could be again. It was something I had to accept, and thanks to God I was able to. Many times I found myeslf feeling guilty for being such a jerk to my Mom. I was always thinking how much better of a Christian and as a person I could be. I didn't know if I could handle everything that was going on a lot of the time. I was reminded that God's grace is the only reason I am the way I am. God will never give me more than I can handle. It was reassuring. My faith once again took a deeper step and I was reminded once again that God was and always will be in control. Fast-forward to now. I examine my life and see that I am blessed even more than before. More family and friends have gotten baptized and that is something that warms my heart as I type about it even. I have developed true friendships with many people here in Ash Grove while finding out who my true friends from Springfield were. You know who you are. There are a few people that have been as close to me as brothers and as sisters through this all. I have even been lucky enough to get a strong, level-headed Christian girlfriend. She and my other brothers and sisters in Christ have truly helped me through so much as far as just showing me a Christ-like love and support. And as always, my weaknesses poke through all the time. I try every single day to love and be a better Christian, falling short many times. It's a good thing we were saved by grace and not through good works or else we would all be in a lot of trouble. Here is what I believe: We all were created in God's image. Well, Adam and Eve had it really good until they screwed things up by eating from the Tree of Knowledge and getting kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Ever since then, mankind has needed a savior. That's where Jesus comes into play. God sends his son down to save the world and for all of our sins to be forgiven simply by asking and believing. People, that is AWESOME. That God would send his son to pay SUCH A PRICE for all of us. We are like nasty, filthy rags compared to Jesus' glory. He can make us white as snow though as soon as we believe in the miracle he did for us. I believe that my faith is something real. I truly strive to be a man of God and that my will may match up with His every day. It brings me to tears when I think about all of my friends and even family and all the others who may not get to heaven. Guys, we need to reach out to everyone we can. We all say our faith is the most important thing to us. Let's show it. Let's show the love that God has for us. We can't do it alone either. Our brothers and sisters should be our main supporters. If we all come together as God means for us to and if we all have the faith God wants us to have, we can do AWESOME things. We are the light of the world and I believe we need to shine bright and be proud of our Lord and Savior and make him proud of us. Thank you all for bearing with me through this mini-novel. I pray that God may have spoken through me to help encourage any of my fellow Christians or help out those of you who are non-believers. If nothing else, you all at least know where I stand now. Another thing, if anyone out there EVER wants to talk to me about this, please do. You can even e-mail me if you want. Can't promise you all the anwsers, but I will listen, talk with you and of course pray for you. God bless you all and thanks again. -Chris Swift |
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