Religion is a touchy topic. It often is seen in a bad light, or as a thing that divides people rather than bringing them together. People who subscribe to certain religions are often painted in negative lights and seen as racist, bigoted or downright dangerous. While this can sometimes be true, generalizing a whole group of people based on the actions of a few is never a good thing to do. Religions are not what they seem; they are defined entirely by the people who practice them. And some people, like myself, fit into a group because of shared beliefs, but don't share every belief with that group of people. So that's what I want to talk about, the importance of relationship in my life, as opposed to the importance of religion.

Religion has always been a part of my life. I was raised in the church, taught the Lord's Prayer as a toddler, and baptized in my church's altar when I was twelve years old. For the first 17 years of my life, I sat in a church pew and sang hymns and memorized Bible verses, and I felt nothing. No connection to this great big "God" that everyone was talking and singing about. This isn't a negative reflection on the church I grew up in because it's full of genuinely kind people who raised me, taught me about God, and always tried to spread His love. However, there came a time in my life where I needed less information about God and more interaction with Him.

The first time I remember feeling God was when I attended a friend's church after a sleepover. I actually only went to the church in the first place because it started a whole hour later than my usual church service, and I wanted to sleep in. As soon as I stepped through those doors, I felt a different aura about this place. It was located in a large warehouse adjacent to a dance studio. The stage contained no real altar, no choir stands, and no baptism pool. There were no stained glass windows, no hymn books, and the preacher wasn't even on the stage yet. He was walking around, welcoming people and hugging their necks.

I stuck close to my friends and headed up to the third row, where their families were waiting with saved seats. Soon after, a few people stepped out from the first row and picked up the instruments on the stage. Before this moment, I always thought that I hated contemporary Christian music. It was too generalized, too watered down, and I didn't even understand the meanings behind the words. But really, I just hadn't ever experienced what the people writing the songs had experienced. That soon changed as the band started playing. It was a well-known song, one that I'd heard on the radio or in Chick Fil A multiple times. I sang along with the projector, and then started looking around.

All around me, people were worshipping. They had their hands raised, eyes closed, and were swaying with the music. Some even called out God's name in several different languages. I decided to copy what they were doing and closed my eyes. It was then that the music seemed to slam me right in the chest. I felt an ache like I never had before, and I felt myself swaying with the beat. Everything else melted away, and the world was black. Out of the blackness, a voice seemed to say "Welcome Home."

The peace that came upon me was something like I had never experienced. In life, my mind is constantly running. I'm thinking about and over analyzing everything, and God knew that peace of mind was just what I needed in that moment. My brain needed to stop thinking and reasoning and let my heart do the work for once. Before I even knew it, I was weeping and had lifted my hands above my head. All I wanted to do in that moment was praise whatever or whoever had given me this incredible gift.

And I did. That day set a fire in my soul, and I had to get more. I started going too this new church regularly and these last two years of my life, I have grown and grown in God's presence. I've felt him with me every day, and asked him for guidance in every decision I make. I gave my heart to him, for real this time, and got re-baptized. On the outside, nothing much about my life has changed. I was already following the rules of being a Christian, but now I was letting Christ lead me in life instead of fitting the mold I had been raised into. I decided that my relationship with God was mine and mine alone, and I chose only to let me and God decide what that meant for my life.

I'm not saying all of this to bash anyone for being a "good Christian" or following the rules of a clearly laid out religion. God blessed me by letting me grow up in a Godly place surrounded by his followers who taught me so much about Him before I even knew Him, and He blessed me again by leading me to a church that was destined to be my forever home. He blesses me every day by allowing me to talk to Him, and just hang out with Him basically. I'm certainly not telling you how to live your life or how to have a relationship with God; I'm simply saying that in addition to religion, there has to be relationship.

Don't go through life sitting in pews and singing hymns and tuning out during a preacher's sermon. Don't look at the stained glass windows and see a man with holes in his hands and arms wide open, and reject his embrace. Don't think for one second that God is too busy or too big to come down and touch you, talk to you, lift you out of whatever you're going through, because I can promise you He isn't. He is with us 100% of the time, but we get to choose whether or not we let Him in.

I don't follow all the rules anymore; I just let my heart and God's love lead the way. I've let myself believe that He's with me. I've listened to him tell me that above all I am to love those around me. Not condemn, not destroy, but love. I have a true relationship with God, and I have a lot of people to thank for that.

So if you're reading this, and you've never felt something like what I felt in that precious warehouse church two years ago, the church that I now call home, please step out of your comfort zone. You don't always have to leave a place to find God somewhere else, sometimes he's just waiting around for you to open up to Him instead. God can speak through hundred-year-old hymns just as well as he can through the newest Hillsong album. Everyone finds God differently. So open your heart, find what connects you to Him, and let Him speak through that. Find God everywhere you go, and I can promise that you'll be happier for it.