My Testimony

I grew up in a Christian family that was very involved in church. I've always considered myself a Christian, but it wasn't until I was out on my own and in college that I realized Christianity really was more than a religion - and that it was a relationship with Jesus.

I think a lot of students, like myself, leave home and the direct influence of their parents and begin to make their own decisions about faith and God. As a science major, I've been taught theory after theory about the origin of life and creation. On a ski trip in 2009, I reached the top of a mountain and was getting ready to ski down and I was at a point in the mountains that I could see for miles and it was probably one of the most beautiful views I've ever experienced. I've never believed the "Big Bang Theory" to be true, or any of the other scientific theories about creation & origin of life, but at that moment, God's creation became so real to me. I began to think about other experiences I had had in the past, like a night I spent in the country with friends looking at the stars - one of the most beautiful starry nights I've ever seen. Also, one of the last and most memorable nights I would spend with a friend before he died. I also recall drives when I would see scenery that was absolutely breathtaking - even in the country in West Texas, filled with mesquite trees and cactus. Something that many think is less than beautiful, I see God's beautiful creation, and a place that I grew up. These moments in my life that I took for granted at times have now proven God's existence and absolute love for me and for us - his most prized creation.

Thinking back on some conversations we had with some Italian students in 2010 who claimed they worshiped Mother Earth or nature, I cannot understand how a person could look at the stars, or the vast blue sky, or the snow-capped mountains or endless blue sea and not see God. I'm heartbroken for these people who don't see what I now see, because they don't know the undying love of Jesus.

I love to read Genesis now, more than ever, not only because it's an account of creation, but because it makes me laugh when I think about the scientists that developed the Big Bang Theory. When you think about it, I'm sure there was a really big bang when God said, "let there be light" and there was light. I pray that everyone will come to see the truth, as I did, when looking at something most overlook - the things that surround us everyday... the sun, the moon, the grass, the trees & bushes, flowers, the sound of laughter, children, animals, etc.

My best friend, Krista, posted this on Facebook and I loved it:
She said: "The Gospel is - we are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared to believe, and at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope."

Remember, if God has ever loved you, then he has forever loved you.