How Jesus Christ Changed My Life Throughout my childhood, I attended Walstone Memorial Baptist Church with my grandparents.

I thought growing up that I knew what being a Christian was all about. I went to church, said that I believed, and was baptized in my early teens, but I had everything all wrong. On the outside I had others believing that I was living a Christian life, and I even believed it myself. Looking back now, although I claimed to believe, I did not love God. I didnt give Him the time of day and trust Him to lead my life. The farther I got into my teenage years, the farther I fell into sin. My spiritual blindness became more apparent as I reached high school, and peaked in my college years. I found myself living the college lifestyle, drinking, swearing, constantly giving into sexual desire, continuously listening to rap music, and occasionally doing drugs. I had no direction in my life, I was fearful about the future when I should have been fearing the Lord and the wrath that I deserved. But God had a plan for my life. As I was quickly spiraling to my own destruction, something tragic occurred that changed my life (and eternal life) forever. After being admitted to the hospital one week earlier, my mother passed away on May 18, 2013, just three days after I turned twenty-one. She had been battling Systemic Lupus for twenty years, and this time it was too much for her to bear. It was the Lords way of easing her pain, and waking my father and me up. My mother was the most selfless, loving person that I had ever known, and to see her taken so quickly was the breaking point in my life. The foundation that had been laid throughout my childhood in attending church was critical at this time in my life- what I mean is, I knew what I then had to do. With nowhere to turn living an unfulfilling life and utterly distraught, I wholeheartedly repented in my heart that I was sorry for the life that I had been living, enough to turn away from the sins I had been giving in to for years. I surrendered my entire life to Jesus Christ, began to seek His direction in everything, and He saved me. I began to see the peace that came from walking in the Spirit, and that He was there for me in everything. Whenever I was tempted (which was worse early on), I just prayed and praised His name and found refuge. This was the first time in my life that I was 100% sure that I was saved. As the Lord began to change my life, He answered another prayer in which I earnestly sought His direction. Going into my senior year (which I am in now) I had no idea what I was to do in life. I was incompetent, fearful, and impassionate of everything I was studying. On November 8, 2013, the Holy Spirit revealed to me a call to ministry, and I felt in my heart that God wanted me to apply to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. I am totally committed to serving Gods purpose in my life. As I am still seeking His will for me in ministry, or whether or not it is to be full-time, I am initially pursuing a Master of Arts Degree in Christian Studies. If the Lord leads me to something else in which I would better glorify Him, I will heed His call. I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for my life, and I pray that I will bring Him glory in whatever He leads me to do.