I grew up in a Christian household, learning all the stories and why following Jesus is so important. At a young age, I was scared of what would happen to me if I didn’t follow Jesus so I decided to follow him, privately.

Throughout the next years of my life, I kept feeling a tug to go get baptized, from reading verses and watching others getting baptized at this church but I didn’t because I was waiting for a turning point in my life so many others had in their testimonies. It was like that saying about how knowing Jesus is like obtaining gallons of milk but if you don’t share it, what’s the point?

I never publicized that I was a Christian as the school I grew up in valued everyone’s beliefs so I thought that I shouldn’t be trying to convince others to join mine. I tried my best to show kindness to others, even if that was making friends with questionable people because I didn’t want to continually exclude them. I also couldn’t say no to them, out of fear of hurting them, which led me to do a couple regrettable things. In time, I’ve learned that standing up for myself actually made me a better friend for them. This was when I started to lean on God more to change my need for other’s approvals. This was also when I realized that my priorities were pretty messed up. I valued sport over school, and school over friends and family. A verse I came across was Proverbs 3:5-6 which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, submit to him, and he will make your path straight.” From not trusting him, I’ve regretted many of the decisions I made over the years but I want to change that.

I still don’t know if I ever got that turning point but I started hearing about others who also never had a huge turning point in their life but still got baptized because they wanted to follow God. So I’ve decided that I should also get baptized because I want to reflect Jesus’ love to others like my friends through my actions, not being worried about how they perceive me. I now trust God’s plan for me and that everything that happens, happens for a reason.

I would like to thank my parents for always supporting my decisions and for answering my questions and doubts, my brother for just being there with me, and my friends for teaching me life lessons, whether intentionally or not.