No One Else But Him

Growing up, I was raised by strict Catholic parents. I was forced to attend classes and went through the whole process of Confirmation. But even after all that, Jesus still didn't seem real to me. In fact, I really only went to those classes to make my parents happy. It was never my choice. I lived my life strictly to please others. I felt I lived a pretty good life. I succeeded in all I pursued, I had lots of friends, I was popular, I was happy.

But in 1998, the end of my junior year of high school, my life seemed to get complicated. I started dating my future husband, Jason, who was a born-again believer type of Christian. My parents would warn me about him and make comments like, "Oh, he's only going to try to convert you". So of course, I did everything I possibly could to prevent that to make them happy.

Jason first shared with me the story of Nicodemus, the Pharisee and how Jesus told him, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." (John 3:3) Jason asked me if I believed in Heaven and Hell and if I knew where I'd go after I died. At that point, I stopped him and ended the conversation right away. I was a bit annoyed that he even asked. Who wants to think about death? I thought, 'Here he goes trying to convert me just like my parents said.'

As we continued to date, Jason never gave up on me and my salvation. When he invited me to his church, I would say to him, "If you go to my church first, then I'll go to yours." So one day he did. When I finally attended my first service at his church, I felt nervous, anxious, worried, guilty, and even a little excited. I didn't know what to expect. But God knew. His presence was everywhere, during the praise and worship, the message, and even the people. I had never experienced God that way before. He was starting to change my heart.

I didn't accept Jesus right away, but through curiosity, I started to seek Him more on my own. Growing up, I was never encouraged to read the Bible, but at Jason's church, I was told that I needed to read it if I wanted to know more about Jesus. So I secretly started reading the Bible and continued to attend Jason's church.

In October 1999, I finally accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. I didn't care what my parents thought anymore. I did it for myself. I was convinced that life without Jesus was no life at all. I wanted to please no one else but Him. I realized that God really does love me just for me; that no matter how good we are, or how popular we are, or how pretty we are, or how proud our parents are of us, we ALL still fall short of the Glory of God, because of sin. God definitely made a way for me to want to know Him despite my stubbornness.

Carmela
(accepted Christ 1999)