Erika's Thoughts on Family and Spirituality
>Family has been an important part of my life. Maybe even too important.
Growing up, I did my best to obey my parents, thinking that if I was good, my family would be all right. I thought that doing good things like obeying them would be what would get me into heaven when I die.
>I relied primarily on my family for security, confidence and happiness. But recently my view of them has changed and with maturity I don’t see my parents as problem-free as through my former child eyes.
>I’ve come to the deeper realization that my parents and siblings are more than just my biological family. They are also my spiritual family, with God as our Father in heaven.
Now that I am older, I see that we each have our personal struggles and that we are all growing.
>I first started learning about God and his love when I was younger. I also heard about Jesus, the miracles he did and the fact that he died on a cross.
Despite learning about God, I didn’t know how all of it personally related to me and my life. I didn’t know that I could have a personal relationship with God through Jesus.
>I was at a summer pre-teen camp where one of the counselors shared with us about Jesus Christ. She shared with us a quote out of the Bible: "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins."
>There I understood that God loved me and that I needed his forgiveness so that I could be clean and start fresh in having a relationship with God. Jesus is the way to this relationship because he took my place on the cross by dying as my substitute. He took my rightful position of being separated from God before he came back to life. That act removed the barrier between God and I and made a dynamic personal relatiohnship with him possible.
It was then that I asked Jesus into my heart and life. I knew in my heart that it was right.
>I think spirituality in student life is important. In class or out of class, I can see that many students on my campus are spiritual in one form or another. I think that everyone seeks to be spiritual in some way.
>For me, having a relationship with God means having direction. It means heading in a new direction. It means turning away from things you’ve lived out in the past, both heart attitudes and actions. And you can leave those things behind because Jesus Christ has paid for those sins so that you can be free from them.
>Having faith doesn’t mean having no struggles. In my faith, I struggle with issues of pride and obedience in the little things of life. The opposites — independence and disobedience — hinder my relationship with God just as rebelling against someone who loves you would be hurt by these things. I thank God for giving me friends and family that encourage me and keep me in check while I do the same for them.
>Seeing the struggles of others around me, especially my family, there comes responsibility to pray and look out for each other. I guess you could say that the concept of family has become more real and that it requires work to stay together….a team.
>I am growing in awareness of my faith in daily life as a student, even if I’m just walking in the halls to my next class. Discussions of religion come up as it pertains to the topic of the lesson, and I feel I need to share something from a Christian perspective.
Related reading:
- Questions about spirituality? Read our spirituality articles
- What’s your Spiritual Interest Quotient? Take our SIQ quiz and find out
- How you can know God personally
- Back to Student Profiles
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