My condensed testimony

My story is a testimony of God’s grace and sovereignty over salvation. Throughout my life, even with all the “advantages” of a Christian upbringing, I have pursued worldly pleasures. Only through the grace of God and His divine intervention have I come to where I am now.

Being brought up in a Christian home, I attended church and a small private Christian school all four years of high school. One could say I was immersed within the Christian “culture” and had every advantage of hearing the gospel message. However, at the age of 16, I came to a point in my life where I started to question any belief I may have had. I felt I had allowed myself to fall under the umbrella of my parent’s beliefs and had not “adopted” the Christian religion for myself. I reached this conclusion during a Ken Freeman revival. Ken asked if anyone was unsure of where they were going after they die. I raised my hand. A girl approached and asked me specifically if I knew where I was going when I die. I said no. She asked if I would like to pray with her. Again, I said no. Later that night, back at home in my room alone, I realized the weight of what I was rejecting and prayed for God to take hold my life. But my struggles did not end here. During my senior year of high school, I was introduced to partying and alcohol.

However, I went on to graduate high school with a full scholarship to Norwich University, a private military college in Vermont. After my first semester at Norwich, I eagerly returned home with no intention of returning to Norwich. At 1 am New Years morning 2001, I went to a party with some friends. After a few drinks, I decided to go home. On my way home, I was pulled over for a broken taillight and then arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol as a minor. While, this event has had a lasting impact on my life, it was not an immediate turning point. I continued in my pursuit of worldly pleasures, alcohol and sex, continued until last year when the reality of wasting my life hit. On March 3rd of 2006, while away at swift water training weekend with coworkers, I was awaken at 2am in the morning to hear that a member of my fire department, and friend, had just been violently killed in a car accident involving alcohol. God used this event to open my eyes to the tragedy of wasting one’s life in the pursuit of worldly pleasures. Through my job in the fire service, I had seen many lives taken suddenly through events out of their own control. I had heard the elderly speak of how pointless their life of hard work had become when all they had to show for it is bad health in their retirement years. But now, it really began to sink in. God opened my eyes to the fragility of life and how little control any of us have over it. Last year, I read John Piper’s book Don’t Waste your Life. Through the words of John Piper, God has shown me that He is in total control and He has purposefully chosen to gift me with salvation, without any merit on my own part. My eternal perspective has been growing immensely since this moment. I feel my life has been forever changed. It’s comforting to know that my salvation rest in the free grace of God and not on any work or decision I have made on my own. God will prevail and in His glory I will find satisfaction and contentment.

I have made the decision to be baptized this month, and I am praying for God to continue to accomplish His will for my life. I am excited to know that wherever my life leads, God will continue to use me for His glory.