My high school years were full of anxiety. It overtook my body. I was left feeling sick, tired, and nauseous constantly. My fear of everyday activities hurt my relationships with friends and family. I found this fear translated into many other areas, including my faith. I had a negative view of religion. I thought it consisted of arbitrary rules people were forced to live by. I viewed the church as a place full of judgment and shame. This false perspective made me fearful to pursue God.

I knew that there had to be more to life, I didn’t want fear to define me. I took a leap of faith and filled out a connection form with a college ministry to see if my previous assumptions were true. In this college ministry, I learned about God’s abundant love for us. It’s by grace that we are saved and invited into a relationship with God (Ephesians 2:8-9). At this moment I decided to begin my relationship with Christ by allowing Him to be in control of my life. After I accepted Christ into my life, I found these previous experiences of judgment to be far from true. There is so much freedom in Christ. There is freedom from worry, freedom from guilt, and freedom from shame.

I realized very quickly that God loves us no matter how “late” we see our need for Him, or what prior knowledge we bring to the table. Having a relationship with God means I don’t have to stress about the future because He has it all planned out. My anxious thoughts were replaced with reassurance that my life is in good hands. There is so much joy in the Lord. He gives me the strength to be fearless in pursuit of Him. I recognized my need for Christ, invited Him into my life, and now continue to grow in my relationship with Him.