Disclaimer—I'm not saying that being born into Christianity is bad, and I'm not saying that parents should raise their children a specific way. I am merely reiterating my experience and how God has worked in my life to help me find Him.

I guess to put what I think into one sentence it would be; I feel like if I were raised being told that one way of religion was right, I would have rebelled or taken my relationship with God and Jesus Christ for granted.

I believe that statement wholeheartedly. As a child, my parents brought me to church, but not consistently by any means. And I'm not hating on them when I say this, but, my parents also weren't reinforcing what I was learning, because they weren't religious themselves. So basically, I went to church and was bored, not understanding anything, and I didn't have a lot of people to talk to it about.

Fast forward- I went to college early, (at the age of 16) and in my first semester away from home, I began to attend a Baptist church down the road with my friend Amanda. Without somebody forcing me to go, telling me what to wear, and telling me how to act I could actually enjoy church and learn about God comfortably. I went to the services and attended the college Sunday school for a few months, but then I decided that the Baptist church down the road just wasn't for me. Since I was older and could make my own decision on which church to attend, I began to visit different sects of Christianity. I attend Catholic mass with my boyfriend, weekly Mormon youth group meetings with Amanda, non-denominational youth group meetings on campus, and every once in a while I would attend the Baptist church again. Being able to choose where and when I went to get my religious fixing helped me truly see what I believed and what I wanted to do with my faith.

Another thing that I noticed within myself is that I never had a relationship with Jesus Christ- even though he's the whole reason for Christianity. While I went to church when I was little and heard that Jesus "died for my sins", I never understood exactly what that entailed. Only until I got older and heard sermons on Jesus' sacrifice did it really resonate with me, because I could finally comprehend what that truly meant. With the knowledge of what Jesus' sacrifice entailed, my life turned upside down. I was amazed at the miracle that is and was Jesus Christ and I wanted to share my knowledge with everybody (and still do). I wasn't truly Christian until I had the ability to search, decide, and believe on my own accord, and I really believe that I maybe would've never have found that relationship with Jesus Christ if I had been raised one specific way.

In summary, I'm glad that I was not raised in any particular religion, because as I got older I could try out different things without being scared or feeling like I was doing something "wrong". I'm not saying that this always happens, or that parents should not raise their children how they want to, but I believe my parents' lack of pushing religion on me actually helped me grow. Yes, they exposed me to different religions and different sects of Christianity, but it was neither constant nor abrasive. I was able to comfortably make my own spiritual decisions based off of my own experiences and ideas, rather than believing what my parents believed as a default of living with them.

Now I go to weekly lessons with Mormon missionaries, attend a Baptist church when I can, and go to Catholic mass with my friends. My parents are okay with me exploring my spirituality, so while it is weird to attend such diverse sanctions of religion at one time, they understand that it's because I am trying to find what I truly believe. So, thank you, Mom and Dad, for not pushing your beliefs on me and freaking out when I tried different things.