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My Testimony
I grew up in a Protestant home and knew who Jesus was before I could even walk. My mother was a very strong Christian who raised me in a very close church family and for this I am very thankful. I had such a love for the Lord as a child, but that sadly changed. As I grew into a young adult I started to notice that my church had become more about man, than about God. Church politics, hypocrisies, and the judgemental nature of the members took center stage concerning my views of Christianity. This was a perfect tool for the enemy to use to get me away, and it worked. My new-found justification to walk away from the Lord led to me not having anything to do with Christianity and I lived a lonely life of sin without God for about 15 years. I had even gotten to a point where I questioned His very existence. After marrying my wife in 2005, I had attended several churches with her and our children but nothing ever came of it and our first visit was usually our last. In January of 2009 that all changed. I was in my brother-in-law's wedding which happened to be in a local Catholic church. I cannot begin to describe how I felt when I saw that crucifix right there in front of me. I had never stepped foot into a Catholic church before, partly due to the fact that my whole family was very anti-Catholic. After that wedding however, for several weeks a voice inside my head kept telling me I needed to go back there. I recognized this voice. This was the same voice that spoke to me in my youth and up until that moment, I had ignored. One evening sitting home alone I stumbled across a video that was on Youtube. This video featured video footage from a Catholic Mass, scenes from The Passion of the Christ, and a song by Hillsong United titled "From the Inside Out". By the time it was over I was crying and I dropped to my knees right then and there and came back to the Lord. What an amazing feeling! I immediately wanted to tell everyone, and I did...even if they didn't care! Two days later I started going to Mass at the Catholic church and haven't stopped since. There were many unkind words from family when they found out where I was going. People from my childhood church would no longer talk to me, and yet with all this going on I had such a peace and I knew I was where God wanted me. Imagine how I felt at first; since my family was anti-Catholic, naturally so was I. And here I was becoming Catholic, but more importantly becoming closer to the Lord than I have ever been. The Lord convicted me many times when I would get dragged into debates and arguments about doctrine because my approach was wrong, and it never beared any fruit. I am always being shown something new, everyday, non-stop, and no matter what denomination, we are all God's children. I have now found how to love him like I loved him as a child, with unrelenting faith and trust.
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