What Happened To Me? (Part 2)

In the first weeks of my faith journey I emailed the senior pastor at San Clemente Presbyterian Church. I had gone there a couple of times, liked the atmosphere, but had a lot of questions. At this point, believing in God was still something that I didn't "get" and I certainly wasn't even near comfortable with all the "Jesus Christ talk." I told him a short version of my story, listed off several questions, concerns, and skepticism's and asked what his advice would be to learn a little more. He invited me to come talk with him. Impressive.

So I nervously went to his office with my list of major problems with the faith. We talked, easily, about how I was feeling, what I was afraid of, why I had trouble believing. His advice was simple....keep coming to church, start out by reading the New Testament and get to know who Jesus is, and just try to approach all of this as if you believe it. He asked if he could pray for me, I obliged, we bowed our heads. I can't remember what the prayer was, but I remember that I teared up, that it felt intimate, powerful and special. Looking back on it now, I'm sure that prayer was monumental to the change I experienced in my heart.

So, I did what he suggested. I kept going to church, and I really liked it. I even sang the words to the songs, even though it was really, really awkward at first. I was diligent about reading the Bible, although it was overwhelming and I didn't really "get it." And I read a couple of other great Christian 101 books that he suggested. I kept an open mind, tried to really learn and research and put aside all of my own preconceptions.

Slowly, slowly....I started to really crave more knowledge, I started to look forward to my reading, I started to understand more and "get it." I found myself desperate to know more, starving for more information and answers and finding a peace in my heart that I had truly never known. I was changing, big time!!

Jesus said, "Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given- and you will receive even more."

Mark 4:24

Stay tuned for more....