Profile: Mike
My Spiritual Journey:
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…