Spiritual Autobiography Part II

The Spiritual Discipline of Sharing my Story

The most eventful years of my life were those in middle school. Middle school is traumatic for all teens, but I had extra forces that effected me. Sixth grade was my first year attending youth group, which I am sure was not my choice, but an expectation. At school, I had two best friends and we were the popular kids. I did not let them know that I went to youth group. I met another friend at youth group and I loved her. I really had two distinct lives and had no trouble not incorporating God into who I was at school. Eventually and by the grace of God, those two friend groups clashed. I brought one popular friend to youth group, she met my youth group friend and we became a new friend group rooted in our love for church. We later discovered we even had similar interests in choir and theater. Pretty soon, we were inseparable and I found my whole life making sense. And this was important because of what happened in a third triangle in the pie of my life.

Between sixth and eighth grade, my family underwent a major change. We found out about unfaithfulness in the marriage and soon my parents were divorced. It started out with an extended business trip to Florida, then my Dad moving out, then discovery of the affair, and then the divorce. At this point, I was pissed at everyone and everything. I refused to see my Dad and I know I caused gray hairs for my Mom. The tension in my home was great, and looking back I am sure I was part of the problem. Never mind that though, as an eighth grader, I was the center of my world. So I was going to be pissed. I turned to my friends every time. I lived at their houses as much as I could, I called them every night, and they became my family. I see God at work in this period of my life, because their style of helping me cope was to direct me to God. If they were not church-goers like myself, I do not think I would be in this position today. I know God used our relationship to help me heal in a healthy way, and I am eternally grateful for that.

Usually, that is the bulk of my testimony. I tell that story and emphasize God's goodness and faithfulness. I share that I never really actively pursued God, but I know in hindsight that He held my hand throughout that whole experience. I usually share that I knew my salvation was secured, and my relationship with God grew from there. Which is entirely true. Unfortunately though, that was not the end of my salvation story. I would say that that it is my conversion, because God revealed Himself to me and I made the choice to cling to Him and find Him for comfort rather than my own sinful nature. This is also the time when I made Profession of Faith in church. But there is far more that happened after that that helped me learn about who God is and how I am supposed to live the Christian life. I still have to fall head over heels in love with God... And that is what makes this story different from a testimony. This is the far expanded version. So, keep persevering readers, there is a lot more spiritual maturing that we need to cover.

But that is all for today.

Blessings,

Alyssa