People use the terms "goody-two-shoes" and "Jesus girl" as if it is funny or a curse. Most know I'm not at the Halloween parties, or the post-prom party, or any party for that matter. They know me for being a "goody two-shoes" or for "sitting back and judging". With that, I tend to get Jesus jokes, or that I'm a straight-down-the-ticket Republican. I've heard it all, and I typically hear something new everyday. Regardless of what I'm called, or the fact that I'm not invited to the parties, I'm proud that I'm known for being a Christian.
Here's the thing, I do what I was raised up to do. Those included what was right and wrong based on the Bible. I live in a Christian household with Christian parents. I've been going to church since before I have a memory of church. It all sounds like a typical "you grew up and just believe what your parents believe" thing, but here's the catch. I was not saved until I was almost 15 years old. Before then, I was an average teenager who tried really hard to fit in and be liked. I was so worried about what others thought about me. I was also really insecure and stayed sad a lot. Looking back, I've made such a 180 turn.
My 10th grade year, I got on fire for Jesus. I worshiped in the car on the way to school and on the way home. I wrote down my prayers and began a Bible Journal. I had a close relationship to God, and it was all fueled by the fact that I wanted to make a change. I put all of my faith, hope, and worries in God's hands. Was it easy? No way. It took a lot of trust. It was so hard sometimes! I questioned a lot and knew even less than I thought I did.
What was really hard for me was to think that God loved me enough that He didn't even think about what I had done wrong in the past. To him, it was gone, like it never even happened. I worried day after day that my sins were too much, and there was no way he could love me after I had claimed to lived for him after all these years, and I hadn't. I told GOD that my sins were too much for him. I was telling the guy who sent his Son as a perfect sacrifice for our sins, that mine were too much. If that wasn't the most ridiculous statement of the year, I don't know of one other to top it.
God, within that year, taught me lots of important lessons. My personal favorites are the Fruits of the Spirit. If you're not a Christian, or if you're a new Christian and don't know what those are, they are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. I also learned not to worry, not to do anything that would cause someone else to stumble in their walk with Christ, and to act as God would want me to. I'm a witness; I set an example to nonbelievers. If I walked and talked and did everything that people who don't believe in God did, what would be the point in becoming a Christian? It's so easy to love the idea of being a Christian, but not act like one at all. Everyone loves the idea, but would rather act like the rest of the world does.
Being a Christian is though. It is so easy to just blend in and act like the world, except on Sunday's and social media. Being a Christian is turning away from the stuff the world thinks is acceptable, no matter how glamorous it looks, and walk with Christ. My walk as a Christian has been imperfect, but God doesn't expect us to be perfect! I came to God broken and imperfect and sad, and he turned my life around.We don't come to God perfect. We come to God broken and in need of a Savior.
