Bible studies. Private schools. Church on Sundays. Youth Groups. Praying before meals, sporting events, performances and even tests. All of these things become a part of your daily routine when you grow up Christian. By growing up Christian, I mean in a Christian, Bible-believing, church-going home. I grew up in a Christian family. I went to a small, private Christian school until high school. I was in countless Bible studies and theology classes. My family almost never missed a Sunday service. I was on many service teams and even was given the opportunity to speak at a Christian conference in front of more than 800 people.
Living in the “Bible Belt," it seems like everyone grows up in a Christian home. Everyone goes to church and everyone prays every once in a while. My parents didn’t just end it at church. Everything I did in my early years had something to do with God. My basketball league, my ballet class, my school, my theater program, all of it was based in Christian organizations. They were great! I loved everything I was involved in during those years of my life. My parents even took the time to teach my siblings and me various theological ideals, like the difference between predestination and free will and what a "world view" is. After having all of this knowledge poured into me for so many years, I thought I knew absolutely everything.
But then high school happened.
I was ready to leave the tiny bubble I had been raised in. I thought I was ready for the real world. Oh boy, was I wrong.
My freshman year was a struggle — trying to fit in with people who were nothing like me and figuring out what various phrases meant via Urban Dictionary. It was like leaving “Veggie Tales” and entering “Degrassi” (which I was never allowed to watch). It was a train wreck, and I was the conductor. Over time, though, things got better. I learned that everyone wasn’t a drug-dealing alcoholic who was trying to drag me into their practices.
High school was something no one could prepare me for. Not my parents, not my small group, not my pastor, no one knew exactly what I was going to go through. Being on the other side of high school, I understand why everything for so long seemed to be about God. My parents weren’t conditioning me to believe one certain thing, they were preparing me for the real world. They were explaining concepts that kids my age had never even thought about. They were preparing me for conversations and debates that I am having in college.
All the time that I spend memorizing Bible verses and taking Bible tests was not without reason. I can still remember examples of theological concepts that I learned in sixth grade. I have information that I can pull from at any time in conversations and for papers. Even after all of those years of frustration, I am so incredibly thankful for the community of people who were built around me.
That is what it was like to grow up Christian.
