Was it when you got your first job? Your first paycheck? Your first bill maybe? Or was it when you graduated high school? Or when your senior sport season ended and you had your senior banquet?

For me, my new adulthood slapped me in the face when I started looking at the possibility of moving from the church I had grown up in, to a brand new church so I could make my faith my own. OK, so it wasn't totally new, it was actually a branch of my childhood church, but nonetheless it was still a big leap that I wasn't sure I was ready to take.

My family started attending the megachurch near us when I was in kindergarten, and over the years I moved from the grade school ministry, to the middle school ministry, to the high school ministry, and now up to “big church” (“big church” is the term we kids used for the adult service.) If you aren't connected within a megachurch, you fade into the background; people won't remember you unless you make yourself known and get connected into something, so I always made sure that I was plugged into whatever I could be to help my big church seem smaller. I started singing regularly with the worship team in the grade school ministry from fourth to eighth grade, and then during my junior year of high school I started singing in the high school ministry. I always made sure I went to as many house groups (medium-size groups that meet in a home near a specific high school or neighborhood areas) and small group meetings as I could to make sure I was connected in my community. But there was always doubt in the back of my mind that I was appreciated or noticed, and since graduating high school I've started to see why my parents go to two different churches. My parents stayed at our church for a while, but they started to realize after a few years that they missed being missed, so they started attending the church attached to the school my mom teaches at. They still enjoy the teaching at the megachurch, but they like the community and teaching at the other church as well.

When one of my friends I had met through my house group let me know that he had a job opportunity at a smaller branch of our gigantic church, I started thinking about the possibility of looking into going to that church for a while. I still love my church and the style of teaching, but I want to make sure that I feel at home and am able to grow in my faith with a family that not only notices me because of the talents that God has given me, but notices me because I've built relationships with them.

Being an emotional person, the idea of moving to a new church made me anxious and a bit teary-eyed. When I looked up the church's website I actually started tearing up. But when it comes down to it, I miss the feeling of being missed. I need to make my faith my own, and part of that is finding a church that I know will help me do that. If this new church is the one for me, then I'll have to make the decision to move, my parents wont make it for me this time.

Adulthood has officially started slapping me in the face, but hopefully the next slap won't sting so much.