What's My Story
Rick
As a result, I tried to find escape from worry by filling my life with seeking things that were just fun. Nothing wrong with having fun, but so much of the time my fun-seeking was just to escape from worries. As a teenager, some of the thrills I sought weren't healthy: things like drinking and partying and hanging out with folks who did the same.
Over time, my life disappointed me because no matter how much fun I would have, either healthy fun, like athletics, or unhealthy fun like partying, I would still wake up in the morning and worrying was once again my constant companion.
I remember one of my main worries during my young life was the fear that my dad would lose his job. His company was bought out by another company and many people were getting laid off. It was a constant topic of conversation around our house, and for a teenager, it sure didn't help with my worrying.
Then one day some of my friends invited me to a weekend retreat. I didn't know much about retreats but since my friends were going, I wanted to be with them. Maybe there would be some fun times! Well, for sure there were, but not the kind of fun I was used to! In the midst of a wild and crazy weekend, there were evening meetings. It was in these meetings that, for the first time in my life I heard about God and how a person could have a personal relationship with Him. It was on this weekend that I received the gift of eternal life.
While I didn't experience some kind of instant change, like a switch was turned on, I did notice almost right away that began to have a different outlook on life. I remember that so many things I had been worrying about didn't seem as bad anymore. It was like God was saying, Hey, don't worry about this or that, I will take care of you today. Over time, as I grew in this new relationship, slowly my worries started to be replaced by trust. God took away the daily worries about life by showing me that even though life does bring a lot of things to worry about, He was always in control. It's been many years since that weekend and the decision I made to receive the gift of eternal life. I can now say that over all these years, God has a wonderful track record of His faithfulness and care.
And by the way, my Dad never did lose his job! And when it came time for me to enter the work world, God has always provided guidance and direction in my career.
More than anything, I now know for sure that not only will God take care of me during this life, but also that when my life is over, that I have life for eternity, with God in heaven.