The History Behind Me

I was always a good kid, according to most. I had good grades, I was somewhat a teacher's pet. Everytimes mom and dad would get letters from my teachers they'd say the same thing, "I wish all of my students were like her!" This is from kidergarten until now. But the fact about it is that no one really knew me after I hit about the age of 11.

Whenever I was 11 I finally got to move on to middle school and meet new people. I met this one boy who I really didn't like at first, but after a few weeks we got to be good friends. We were the best of friends for several months. At this time in my life my family didn't go to church or even discuss it. Both of my parents had grown up in church but I still really don't know what happened there. Anyway, the closer me and this boy got, the worse I got. I started cursing all of the time and I just became a really bad person. I would pop off on you in an instant without being provoked or anything. I was just mean spirited. When I was about half way through the 7th grade my dad went down with his back. My whole life changed in one weekend. Over the course of about 2 months my family had a house forclosed on and a vehicle repossed. We had to move from Florida to Mississippi into my grandparents house. After living in MS for a while we started going to church and everything. I kind of liked church but I wasn't really worried about it. I am glad that we moved when we did because I know now that if I had stayed around that boy much longer, I would have made some really bad decisions that I couldn't take back.

After about a year, I finally accepted Jesus into my heart. I was 13 years old. I called a 1-800 number to order a book for my dad called "Life From a Deer Stand". The operator I talked to began to ask me questions about my faith and church attendance. We talked for at least an hour it seems and I started crying and blubbering, but she helped me to finally accept Jesus Christ. She led me through the prayer. I felt this indescribable peace in my heart from that point. I grew in my relationship with Jesus. I was baptized on May 15th. The very next night, at my 8th grade graduation I was asked to lead prayer with a crowd of about 200 people there to hear it. That doesn't seem too bad, but to a 13 year old girl, who has only been saved for about a month, that was down-right horrifying! Talk about a test of someone's faith!

I am 15 now and about a year I started sensing that God was calling me into His ministry but I was unsure. Then finally at youth camp this past summer I laid it all down at the altar and I accepted the call to be a missionary. I am now teaching a children's Bible classon Wednesday nights at church, and I am the pianist on Sunday nights and Wednesday nights.

I just look back on my life and I see so many different things that God has done for me. I can see, even recently how God is preparing me to do his work. I have gotten so much stronger in my faith than I was. I am still just as excited as I could ever be that God has chosen me to do his work!

I know this is lengthy, but it is all truth.

mjc