I think I have always believed that God existed. I also believed that Jesus was a good man but I didn’t understand how that made a difference to me.
My sister had become a Christian. She asked me if I had ever invited Christ into my life. I did not understand the question… Later someone told me that God loves me but I had a problem called sin. Sin created a wall between God and me. I had hoped that God loved me and had no doubt that I was a sinner. They also said that Jesus Christ had died to pay for my sin. Well I knew the story, but never thought about it from a personal point of view.

My sister’s friend told me that the Bible talked about Christ knocking at the door asking
to be invited in but we had to invite Him into out lives to experience his love and his forgiveness of our sins. I thought, “This is a good deal.” So that day I prayed and asked Christ to forgive me and to guide me though life.

One of the ways was to see His influence change my family. My parents were both alcoholics. My family life was a mess. It seems like a bad dream now. After I became a
Christian I began to pray that my mother would become a Christian. Five years later she did and one year after that she stopped drinking cold turkey. It was amazing! This is the woman that would take me, the youngest of 4, and walk 6 Kms to get a drink while my brothers and sister were at school.

Some very hurtful things happened growing up in a violent alcoholic home. At times I have felt sorry for myself, angry and disappointed in life. Hope has permeated my
life by understanding that God has a special plan for each person and that He will cause all these things to shape and mould me into a unique person that He can use to make a wonderful impact on the lives of others.

At points, in dark moments, I have thought that life was not worth living, I have thought about suicide. Even in the good times I felt empty inside. God has given me hope. Life is more than business, achievements and friends. There is a plan. Understanding God’s love and forgiveness has transformed my relationships, starting with me to family and friends.

How does faith affect my everyday? Faith is a stress reliever! Trusting God with the pressure of school, work and relationship has made life a lot more fun. God gives me the strength to face each day.

We are all spiritual beings. We can go through life with that part of life empty
but it takes away from all the other areas of life or we can let God fill the spiritual void and make an amazing difference in every other area…

I can be pretty content on my own and don’t need to have people around. Many of my friends laugh at me when I say that because they think I’m extroverted! But that’s only because I’ve had the time to myself to recharge so I can go enjoy company… If I haven’t had enough down time, I’m pretty snarky and am no good to anyone, including myself.

I dream of starting a card company that will communicate good news, encourage and challenge and touch people with words and truth, and open people’s eyes to different perspectives.

I also dream one day of helping other women learn how to be solid in who they are, and to be free from comparison to other people and free from expectations from themselves, their friends, from media…

My room matches me — it’s plain, simple, and has the bare minimums. Like me, it’s always on extremes, either completely clean, or looks like a tornado ran through it. It’s usually a reflection of how much control I have in my life at that moment in time.

>My favourite tunes or type of music: everything but country and metal.

Food I would consider dying for: anything white chocolate. Fruits and veggies! Japanese and Italian.

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Mind, body, spirit. We’ve heard the phrase before. In university we focus heavily on our mind and intellectual development. Some people take good care of their physical selves, while others trash themselves with all the alcohol and junk food they put into their bodies.

But I think it’s harder for people to take care of their spiritual self and pay attention to unseen things, spiritual things.

I tried to satisfy my spirit by filling my life with achievement and acceptance. Doing well in school, having a prestigious job, making lots of friends, filling my social calendar… I’m goal-oriented and driven to achieve and look for satisfaction in such things.

I had learned about God in church growing up, but when I got to university, I questioned his value and tested him out.

Mostly I was running my life myself and treated God like a tap, turning him on when I needed his help in an exam or some other tough spot. Then I’d turn him off when I wanted to do my own thing and when I could keep myself together just fine on my own.

I eventually got tired of being so inconsistently back and forth about God. So I decided to completely reject and remove God from my life. For two months I lived with some friends and worked hard, played hard, and did my own thing.

At the end of the two months, I was physically tired from work and partying. Emotionally I was weak and had made a few bad choices in relationships. I was giving parts of myself away that I was too weak to hold onto.

Spiritually I was dead. I felt so disconnected from God. Going my own way made me run opposite of God, and prevented me from being in close relationship with God. I felt the emptiness and heaviness in my spirit that was the consequence of my turning away from God and looking for approval from people.

I didn’t know God very well before, but I realized that the little I knew of him (the few times that I had experienced his love and presence personally) was surely better than the things that I thought would satisfy. I knew that I had to turn away from my own way and turn towards God.

I knew I had to give him my life completely, not just the bits and parts I wanted to give him at my convenience only when I wanted to. I knew I needed to give him my life because he had given his own life in the form of his son Jesus, to pay for mine. He came to live a perfect life on earth and die an undeserved and brutal death for me. I needed to let my independent selfish way die along with Jesus’ death so that I could spiritually come alive by knowing and loving God intimately.

I reached a turning point and decided to transfer to a university at the opposite end of the country to start my life over again. I knew I needed to disconnect myself from the things that were draining life out of me and let God breathe new life into me. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I arrived in a new city, new school, leaving all that I knew behind… the only thing that I could depend on was God.

Walking with God hasn’t always been easy, but his strength in me grows most when I am weakest, in the most challenging of situations because that’s when I realize he’s God and I’m not! It’s when I realize that he is my only constant, the only source of never changing approval, because it’s an acceptance based not on what I do or what people think of me, it’s based on what Jesus has done… and it’s a done deal! I’m forgiven and accepted!
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As stereotypical as it may sound, I was painfully trying to find acceptance in the popular crowd in high school. I tried subtlety changing my attitude, behavior and appearance to conform to the group I wished to please. Eventually I came to see that this life of trying to have the “right” friends, music and clothes was expensive, demanding and empty.

As I found myself in a social group that emotionally abused me, I grew in insecurity and became an emotional mess. As I learned of gossip that some of the girls spread about me behind my back, I was confronted with the superficiality of these unhealthy relationships. I hit a low point and felt I had no understanding or control over my life.

Thankfully my best friend Jane remained the only true friend. She remained loyal even when I sometimes disregarded her friendship and chose other friends over her. She accepted me despite my weaknesses.

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I used to get nervous when Jane would bring up the topic of God and Jesus’ desire to be a part of my life. I felt that she was judging me because I thought that God was judging me due to my resistance of him. I used to think God was looking at all my mistakes ready to punish me. I remember lying by my bed asking God over and over “please forgive me, please forgive me.” I grew up with a very religious-ascetic mindset. My conscience was stricken with a fear of God, but I did not know God nor realize that he is a loving, personal being.

Jane told me about how Jesus is like a life-saver to a person drowning in the ocean, if only that person chooses to believe that he can save them. The person needs to grab hold of and cling on to Jesus and trust he will save them. I knew I was imperfect and rebellious. I knew I needed to be rescued from all my imperfection and even my attempts at perfection. It took me a long time for me to realize that Jesus was the only one who could help me. I had to trust and depend on Jesus for my life.

I’ve come to realize that God does not expect perfection from us because he knows we cannot achieve perfection by our own effort. I have a terrible habit of judging others and cutting them down according to my high standards. I judge others because I’m judging myself. But I’m learning that God no longer judges me because Jesus took all our imperfections on himself and allowed God to judge him so that we would not be judged. Jesus did this because he loved us, I don’t have to judge others because God doesn’t condemn me anymore. So this gives me freedom to love others and see their true value because God values them.

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God became more real to me when I was challenged to live out my faith in action and let him be a part of my daily life in university. My relationship with God influences the way I study literature and how I relate to my profs and classmates. My faith often comes up in discussions with other students as I take the many opportunities I’ve had to listen and understand their spiritual views, ideas and needs. I think the greatest calling God has for my life is to love to him by loving the hurting people he brings my way.

I think that a personal relationship with God is the most important relationship a person could have. On a practical level God and the principles of truth in the Bible provide wise advice to help to us live fulfilled and meaningful lives. But on a spiritual level, knowing God in a personal way is the fulfillment of our destiny to be in close relationship with our Creator. This completeness we experience with our Maker brings wholeness in ourselves, and then overflows to our relationships with other people.

I went to university to become a lawyer. Then I switched to pre-med to become a dentist. I finally decided to get a degree that I enjoyed and just get out of school. So, I graduated with a degree in History and Human Geography.

History gave me insight as to who we are as a society. Geography incorporated so many disciplines that I got to experience a little of everything. Oh ya, geography also had a lot of field trips!

To be a history / geography major, you have to have a good mix of an analytical mind and a philosophical mind.

To excel in history, you need to look at it as a story which will give purpose to whatever you are reading.

For human geography, treat it as a vehicle to making the world a better place.

My advice for students in these majors? Volunteer or work in your field as much as you can. This will help you comprehend the material in class and help you find work once you graduate.

At university, I liked the freedom to do whatever I wanted – when I wanted. I liked the the thought that I was accomplishing something great. I liked the all-you-can-eat dorm food.

I didn’t like the prof’s expectations.

>I didn’t like students who weren’t being real – they did whatever the crowd was doing instead of what they believed in.

I learned to be patient. To start early. To test ideas before I accept them.

University taught me that I had a long way to go if I ever wanted to be someone who had strong convictions. It was easier to be quiet than to say what I believed. I didn’t like the risk of being ridiculed.

I realized how much I needed acceptance. It was a pretty important thing for me.

I took a philosophy class at university that started me thinking about values. I used to choose my values by saying, “I don’t like that, so I’ll be like this”.

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I was attending a private school and my mother could not afford the tuition. Someone sponsored me anonymously.

I really liked the principal and admired him for his convictions and personal strength.

I opened up my mail and immediately realized that we had received his mail by accident. It was my tuition form saying that he had paid my tuition.

I never told him that I knew he was the anonymous donor. My admiration just got deeper for him. He taught me a lot about being there for someone in need.

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Integrity is a huge thing for me. I try to be the same person when no one is around as when there are people around.

I want to be myself – not a person who tries to please other people by acting in a way that is not me.

I have a dream to see that hundreds of thousands of people’s lives are better today because of how God used me in this world.

I’m a hockey fan if the Canucks are playing and a football fan if the BCLions are playing.

I might consider dying for a loaded pizza, a banana split, or a steak and potoatoes.

I’d hate to be without my wife and children.

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University was a great time for me to come into my own. I had lots of fun! I remember thinking there are 16,000 students on campus and at least 8,000 are women, so I should never have a Friday night without a date…

The most difficult thing I’ve even done was that I Ran a 40 KM Marathon. Also dealing with the death of both of my parents.
I have always been interested in political leaders, and I would love the chance to meet one, like Churchill, Hitler, or Lincoln.

My room is not a nice picture, I’m sure it’s my creative side coming out…

My favourite kind of music is classic rock

I would consider dying for a Mushroom burger

When no one is watching, I’m lost in thought…Or planning someone else’s life.

To just be myself is to be Friendly, Happy, Easy Going, doing something positive.

My dream is to write a book, to climb to the top of a mountain, maybe Mount Baker, to have a log cabin on a river, and to influence the lives of people in every country of the world…

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I have always wanted to make a difference in the world. I thought Biology was the way to do that. Then in a 3rd year ecology class I remember a professor talking about the problems of the world and I realized that the real problem was nothing that science and technology could solve, that it was a ‘heart problem.’ That day I realized if I wanted to make a difference it would have to be by finding a way to change the hearts of people. Jesus Christ had changed my heart so I became committed to wanting to introduce as many people as possible to the one who could deal with heart problems.

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In high school I had two teachers who cared enough to give us an assignment to research more about a field we might be interested in.

If it weren’t for those assignments, I probably wouldn’t have thought too seriously about what I wanted to do in university until I got there. For the sake of getting the assignments done, I had to pick something, anything. So I started thinking about things I liked to do, subjects I enjoyed and things I naturally found an interest in.

My first reaction to registering for classes for my first year of university was to take half of my classes in the arts, and the other half in the sciences, JUST in case I would want to leave the door open for something science.

Now that I look back at the path of courses and student jobs I’ve had, if I was just honest with myself and took a close look at the things I naturally enjoyed doing I would have found my major more securely sooner.

The things I’ve done in my classes and jobs are the things I did to amuse myself as a child! I used to write stories, books, make up “clubs” for my friends so that I could have an excuse to make up and design membership cards, make posters… Now I write, design, and do other similar stuff!

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If you want to do well in the arts, especially communications, learn to use your brain! Suddenly having to employ critical thinking skills was a new thing to me in university. Though I had good grades in high school I felt very ill equipped for university in that I didn’t really know how to think critically. I quickly discovered that regurgitation and memorization don’t cut it anymore in university.

Good team work skills help to survive your group projects. Being perceptive and observant is helpful in developing those critical thinking skills, but also in reading other people and how to communicate with them.

If good grades are important to you, learn how to read what the prof wants in a paper/project, or what s/he thinks is important in the course (good chance that will be in the exam or will be what they’re looking for in that paper!).

Develop an eye for the bigger picture. I had a great prof in my freshman Sociology course who told us the difference between a B paper and an A paper is that the A grade paper draws the bigger picture, and explains the “why?” and the “so what?” of the topic you’re writing about. Otherwise, who cares? It wouldn’t even be worth studying!

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The extreme and immediate freedom in university was probably the hardest adjustment for me.

Learning how to study with no structure or anyone breathing down your neck checking up on you was a lesson in self discipline I’m still learning now. Having an unstructured schedule can screw up your time management and eating habits too!

The university environment taught me the value of questioning, but not merely for the sake of questioning. It’s so important to ask questions, find answers to solidify or modify your views.

It’s only when I questioned who I was and what I believed that I became solid in my identity and beliefs.

There will always be some people who are content just to ignore the bigger questions of life, but I think we all are craving for perspective and purpose. There’s lots out there, sometimes it gives some a headache to think about those things, I guess it’s less stressful if you don’t think about it, but the pointlessness that comes from not questioning I think would be pretty hopeless.

University is about learning about life, you don’t remember what’s in the books most of the time anyway — it’s the people, perspectives, the life lessons, the figuring out of who you are… these are the things you take out of university.

I didn’t do that well with the pressure to party. After a year of doing the “typically cool” thing for university students, I was tired, worn out from it… I was physically and emotionally worn, but greater than that, my spirit was tired.

I’m someone who has always loved stories. My grandma fed my imagination when I was little by telling me fairy tales and filipino folk stories about monkeys, turtles and coconut shells!

Working on the high school yearbook combined my love for words and stories with my passion to work with people on creative projects. It was a joy to see my interests, talents and skills come together for a purpose.

By grade 11, I began to realize that I deeply loved studying Literature, encouraged by the praise of my teachers. Instinctively I knew I wanted to study Literature at university but my family had different ideas about the direction of my future out of concern and desire to help me make the best choice.

My parents and I waged a grueling battle for a year. The more my parents wanted me to become a nurse, the more my passion for literature was fueled.

In attempting to negotiate a cease-fire with my parents, I convinced myself that I would enjoy nursing. But I was strongly drawn to Arts courses. I tried to find a way to study Nursing and Literature concurrently at UBC, but it was an impossible.

By the end of grade 12 my parents saw my academic success in and genuine love for Literature. I came to accept that I needed to pursue what I knew was right for me.

I love the English Lit faculty and students at my university. They are a crazy bunch of caring, creative and intelligent people. I love bantering with other English Lit nerds and enthusiasts.I believe that if you are passionate about what you do it will show and it will positively affect your relationships with people and the quality of your work.

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Be disciplined and active in your reading — take notes and always think of ways to connect your reading to literary criticism, theory and other issues/ideas discussed in your other classes (even non English classes). Studying Literature with an interdisciplinary approach yields fruitful results.

Take risks to get to know your professors, TAs and students who are committed to their studies. For me the best learning took place sitting in my professors and TAs offices throwing ideas back and forth. Talking about your ideas with people and getting their input is the most enriching academic and personal experience. Take opportunities to do independent studies with a professor you get a long with.

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I’d hate to be without my pillow! I’m really attached to it. I even have a name for it but I’m too embarrassed to say it here. My mom has tried to throw it for years. Last summer, she succeeded but I got a new one to replace it!

In spare moments you might find me emailing, talking to friends on the phone, watching movies, news, Jeopardy and documentaries with my family, reading, journaling, playing guitar and listening to music.

When no one’s watching I am someone who thinks deeply about everything that I’m observing and feeling,- perhaps even to the point of worry. Someone recently told me I’m melancholic in nature. I think that’s partly true but I am also someone with crazy and hyper ideas.

When I’m alone, I like to spend time thinking about the goodness and faithfulness that I’ve experienced in my life from God. I also like figuring out my thoughts and feelings in peacefulness.

I desire to live my life in such a way that models and imparts truth; I want to help others find freedom in their lives. I grew up always fearing I would fail and disappoint everyone. I overcame this fear as I found freedom in experiencing a deep and unconditional love from God.

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The opportunities to grow and learn in university have been amazing. My two great loves in my academic life are doing research and exploring how different theories apply in literature.

But the most important part of my university experience has been much more than academic growth. I’ve grown so much in my spiritual life as I saw other students who loved God passionately and genuinely. I saw how their faith in God was authentic and integral to their lives.

It was a challenge to be disciplined with my time and adjust my thinking to the academic level of my professors and classmates. I experienced a steep learning curve in my first year of university primarily because I had to stop expecting spoon-fed treatment from my professors. I had to quickly learn the language, style and concepts used by my profs, or else I’d be lost.

The hardest thing about university life for me is accepting that I am responsible for the outcome of my decisions and that my decisions affect not only myself but others. Independence is great — but it comes with great responsibility. It should not be abused. I’ve come to see that maturity and independence are an inseparable couple.

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I’ve been learning the importance of building good and genuine relationships with people. It’s so important to love and relate to others and help meet their needs. My friends here have taught me that many people suffer — from relationship abuse, societal injustice, discouragement, fear, failure, disillusionment, cynicism, pessimism and lack of hope. They carry their suffering for years and perpetuate it onto others. I suffer when I see and hear of others’ suffering.

I believe if you want to know and feel God’s heartbeat, go to where there is suffering. His heart is close to those who suffer. No class, no matter how politically or socially activist driven it is, has taught me how to love people. It has been through listening to the stories of students and suffering in their sorrow and taking part in their joy that I have come to understand that an important purpose for my life is to love the hurting.

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In looking back, I was wrong in saying that I was by myself in the car.  For it was Christ who was driving that day; it was He who was crushed for me.  Indeed, I should have died that day, yet Christ gave me life. It is not borrowed for how can I ever pay it back?  Rather, the extended amount of time God has granted me by grace is just that – granted by grace.

If God made everything, including me, that means that I am His and am accountable to Him for all that I say, do, and think.  This thought is frightening because all along I had been living for myself.  I had said, done, and thought a lot of wrong and evil things.  The evil I was committing is what the Bible calls sin, which are thoughts, words, or actions that are in opposition to or in rebellion against God.

Before the accident I looked solely for my own interests and did my own thing, taking what I could get, and milking the system for all it was worth. However, the more I opted for this rebellious route, the more unhappy and unfulfilled I was. “Well then, why not just forget the whole thing and not worry about God?  Why not live a secluded life where no one bothers me and I don’t bother anyone?”  Well, even to do that, to forget about God or not even be interested in what He has to say, is just as sinful because that’s not the purpose He has created us for.  It was an amazing thought that day when I realized that God created me with a purpose.  That purpose may be uniquely lived out in many ways for every person, but the same purpose is given to all – to love and obey God their Maker, as the Bible says.  The problem is that we have all rebelled and sinned against God.  As a result, we are permanently separated from Him.  This is not a good situation.  In fact, it’s exceedingly horrific!  Because of our sinful rebellion against God, we face His perfect and holy judgment and sentence of eternal punishment; which is Hell.  But God is both just and loving.  He is both holy and merciful, without compromising one for the other.  Therefore, because God is a loving, holy, compassionate, just, and merciful God, He has provided another way. Though we did not deserve such love, God graciously sent His perfect Son, Jesus Christ, to come and die on a cross in place of us.  Just as Christ took my place in the car that day, He took my place by dying in order to pay for my guilt and sin so that I don’t have to!   This exchange is true for everyone.  Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sin and entrusts their entire life to Him is saved from judgment.  If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will stand before God washed, cleaned, and forgiven, and have the privilege and joy of fulfilling the very purpose you were created for – to love, obey, and enjoy God forever in a relationship with Him.  If you believe in Him, you have a second chance at life- to live it well and for His purposes, which are much greater than our own.

Personality snapshot:

Random facts about me:

• Some people tell me I have a loud laugh, which is funny for some and annoying to others.  I love to laugh and even enjoy my own jokes.  (I’m also very humble).
• I love the smell of coffee but can’t stand the taste of it.

• I am very bad at multitasking and can only handle a few big things at once.  Details are not my strength.  Grasping the big picture, or at least attempting to, is my thing.  I really enjoy strategy, although I need someone to help me carry it out.

Interests snapshot:

I enjoy basketball, volleyball, soccer, badminton, and especially ultimate Frisbee.  I used to tackle puzzles and read a lot too.  I guess it’s since I enjoy strategy and athletics that I enjoy many tactical sports and mysterious puzzles.  Being a bit of a social bug, I naturally enjoy team sports much more than individual sports.  (If society didn’t think talking to myself was so weird, I may do more individual sports).  Instead, I talk to others on my team.

Mostly, I just read now.  I love to read, although I haven’t read a fiction novel for over 7 years, but I look forward to the day.  I also love to sing, typically in a choir setting, but especially to my newborn baby girl when I’m putting her to bed (or waking her up!)

History snapshot:

I grew up on a dairy farm and learned to get my hands dirty and work hard.  It was a fantastic upbringing that prepared me for many other things in life.  I would help my dad milk the cows and feed them while my other two siblings helped with planting and harvesting the crops. Throughout high school, I was very involved with sports and music.   I was also interested in biology and enjoyed teaching, so I decided to head to university to be a biology teacher.  However, due to the severe car accident (that should have ended my life) that occurred just prior to entering university, I began wondering what specific purpose God had saved me for.  This led me to get involved with a Christian club on my university campus called Campus for Christ.  I soon decided to go into full time missionary work rather than teach biology.  So after graduation, my wife and I joined staff with Campus for Christ and have been serving with them ever since in Campus and Internet Ministries.

On the morning of July 12, around 7 am, I was on my way to work. I had been out very late the night before at a wedding and was very tired.  About 5 minutes from work I fell asleep at the wheel.  I woke up immediately after hearing the wheels of the car hit the gravel shoulder to my right.  I reacted suddenly and turned the wheel, causing the car to spin a 180 degrees, cross the highway sideways, hit the other gravel shoulder and flip.

While I was spinning across the highway, I remember gripping the steering wheel really tightly, but thinking calmly to myself, “I’m really out of control here.  I’m going to flip.”

As I hit the opposite shoulder and flipped, I remember just sitting in my seat, not being jostled or jerked around and not hanging onto anything.  Then, the car landed, slid, and finally stopped.  I was upside down and the first thing I realized was the smell of gas.  I thought I should do something quickly, like get out of the vehicle.  Then I realized this buzzing or ringing noise to my left, and it was the key alarm.  The car engine was off and the keys were still in the ignition, but as my eyes followed the sound, I couldn’t figure out why the keys, the steering column, and the whole driver’s seat was off to my left, and why I was in the passenger’s seat.

Not putting much thought into it at the time, I suddenly realized this tingling or burning sensation across my chest.  It was the seatbelt with all my weight on it.  I remember having to press the belt buckle quite hard against my hipbone in order to release the seat belt.  After a minor struggle, it finally released and all my weight was on my head against the roof.  I curled around the passenger seat and worked my way out of the rear passenger door.   Having exited the car, I stood up.  There was tall grass around my car where it had landed and so I could not see the degree of damage done to my car.

So, being my first accident, I was rather excited and decided to look inside the car to make sure I had all the details straight. In short, what had happened was that I had been driving down the road in the driver’s seat (as most people do) with the driver’s seatbelt on.  When the car landed, I was in the passenger seat with the passenger seatbelt on.  I know this for several reasons: the car I was driving was a 1988 Celebrity that had low driver and passenger seats with a high consul in between them which made it virtually impossible to go from one seat to the other; regardless of a seatbelt.  But I did have my driver’s seatbelt on, which makes it that much more impossible.

In trying to figure out what happened, I assumed that I got thrown over to the passenger seat while still in the driver’s seatbelt.

But, this being the case:

A. the seatbelt would not reach to the passenger seat

B. the seatbelt would have had to break in order to reach – which it hadn’t.

C. I don’t remember at any time being jostled or thrown around

D.If it were the driver’s seatbelt, I would have had to reach across the consul and press against it in order to release it.  This, however, was not the case.  I had to press the buckle against my hipbone in order to release the seatbelt.

E. Finally, I saw it for myself.

Eventually the ambulance arrived, and while they were checking me over (and before they strapped me onto a wooden board with duct tape for precaution), a police officer came up to the ambulance and asked for my ID.  He asked me “Was there anyone else in the car with you?”

I said “no.”

“There was no one with you, no one who helped you out of the car?”

“No, just me.”

After giving me my I.D. back, I remember him closing the door to the ambulance and walking away, shaking his head in disbelief.  I didn’t understand why he didn’t believe me. Not until I saw the car’s damage a week later did I understand.  I remember seeing the totality of the damage the following Saturday.  The car had landed on the front, driver side corner, causing the front and side window to implode and the roof of the car to fold over the steering wheel and driver’s seat.  Only crushed metal and glass filled the driver’s seat, whereas in the passenger seat there was just enough room for someone to sit with their hands on their lap.

That’s when it hit me.

I’ve always thought about God – even if I didn’t have a conclusion about it.

I remember when I was 7 years old, I was sitting on a fence when a neighbor girl came up to me and asked me out of the blue, “Do you believe in God?” I didn’t know what I believed, so I covered all the bases…

I said, “There may be a God and there may not. In case there is one I will believe that He exists. But in case He doesn’t, I am not going to be crazy about it or anything like that.” I felt pretty intelligent at the time.

I mainly thought of God as a spirit in the sky. I had no clue about Jesus.

When I was 9 years old, my mom told me that she now believed in God and that she was quite serious about it.

I was lying in my bed thinking about what she had just told me. I stared at the ceiling and told God, “I don’t know for sure you are there, but if my mom can believe in you, then so can I.”

When I was 17 a friend of mine wanted to start a prayer meeting on Saturday nights. I wasn’t into it. He spent 3 hours trying to get me to be a part of it. I went reluctantly but that’s where I began to find out what it was like to trust Jesus.

I wanted people to know that I was a Christian but I didn’t want to look like a crazy religious person. It’s always been a series of little steps for me – going to church, deciding to sing with everyone, listening to the preaching, praying, listening to God.

I take life one day at a time – getting involved with Campus for Christ at my university really challenged me to live my life based on my beliefs. It hasn’t always been easy.

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My faith in Jesus was tested all through my university years. I was always broke because I could hardly work while I was taking six classes a semester.

I needed a truck for my job but all I had was a car. I learned to be grateful for a decent car.

One day, I rolled that decent car on the freeway and totalled it. I had no collision insurance and couldn’t afford another car but needed one to work. My faith in God was being tested. I prayed for an answer.

I decided to try and sell it back to the guy who just did some body work on it. He bought it for $900! A couple of days later, I found a little pickup truck for $900.

Not only did God keep me safe when I rolled the car, He provided me with another vehicle – a truck, which is exactly what I needed for my job!

Living my faith:

It was challenging to be a Christian at university. Everyone always wanted to go drinking after classes (like REALLY drinking). I was the only sober one in the crowd and that wasn’t a lot of fun.

There was an anti-God sentiment in all my science classes that was difficult.

At first, my faith separated me from people around me. But, as I learned to discuss my faith and my values, I was appreciated for what I believed.

I started to be more of an influencer than being the one that was influenced.

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A relationship with God can offer students peace of mind, self discover and security in a volatile world.

To be able to know the creator of the universe personally holds an incredible sense of completeness.

University students are in greater need of a relationship with God because they are being inundated more than anyone else with the great theories of the great thinkers of all time.

We need something by which we can gauge our lives or we have no idea if we are on track or not.

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