Hi!

I have spent many years trying to find the spiritual truth. My younger sister started going to a denominational church when she was about 12 or so. I was uncomfortable with the whole idea. I kept wondering, "How do I know which one is the right one?" There are so many denominations it was just confusing. So while I was a teenager and then in college I mostly ignored the spiritual emptiness I felt.

There were a few times when I would feel some type of closeness to God. . . but I would usually ignore it. Once in the chapel at my college. Several times throughout college I would ask God to show me some kind of sign, anything, to know I should be investigating Jesus as our Savior. He would actually send me signs, but I would write it off as coincidence. Then after a couple of years in graduate school I said to God, "God, please give me a sign so I know that I should accept Jesus as my savior. I promise that this time I won't think it is a coincidence." The next day I got up and went to work/school just like normal. When I got there I scanned the news quickly, as part of my morning routine. The headline story that day morning was about a woman who's daughter had cancer off and on since she was born. The daughter had just turned seven and was diagnosed with cancer again. The mother prayed and prayed asking God to give her the cancer instead and to let her daughter live. The woman actually got what she prayed for. He daughters cancer went into remission and up until the time of the story, it had stayed in remission. The woman ended up dying of liver cancer, but she was so happy that God listened to her prayer. When I read that story I was totally amazed. I said to myself, "Ok, you promised God you wouldn't ignore it if he sent you a sign. It would be a very very strange coincidence that this story just happened to make the headline the very next morning that you asked God for such a sign. You really, really can't ignore this." So I started to slowly investigate what being a Christian meant. I went with my sister to a non-denominational church off and on. But after having a bible study class for newbies, I got scared off. I thought, "Man, being a Christian is way too stressful. There is no way I am going to get into heaven anyways, so why stress out about it."

So I stopped going to the church. About a month ago I realized I was very depressed. I don't know why, it could have been many things. My life was going really well. I went to see my mental health professional and we discussed some stuff and adjusted my medication. But I was feeling a little stressed out, so I started praying. I really wanted to go to church, but the church I used to go to was way too big now. They also had a rock band, and it would get really loud. I also didn't feel comfortable leaving my 1-year old in the daycare there or taking her into the service. So I started researching the different types of churches, trying to figure out which one I should go to. I also started reading the Bible, hoping it would help me figure out which type of church to go to. I started talking to a few Christians that I knew. I didn't feel comfortable with any of the denominations, there were way too many to choose from. I finally talked to one of my coworkers about her church. She told me about her church which tries to follow the New Testament as literally as possible. I thought, "Wow, that makes sense!" So I started looking for a church like that where I live, and I found it!

So far I really like it. I feel very comfortable there, I have never felt comfortable in a church before, especially all by myself there for the very first time. Everyone was very nice and people kept coming and introducing themselves. The pastor came and talked to me, and asked me if I had any questions. Which I did. So he invited me over to lunch with his family to talk about it. I am pretty sure I have found a place for me. I am very excited. I will continue this story tomorrow.