My Spiritual Journey From Childhood

Although we did not regularly attend church, I was introduced to the Christian faith as a child and hold those values. I was raised by my grandparents as my father left my mother before I was born and life’s

A spiritual journey is the search of God in our lives. This journey often helps us to find the true inner meaning in our life. It doesn’t matter whether you go to church or not, nature is leading us to God.

To say my faith life has been completely revamped in the last year would be an understatement. I had views and ideas about faith that seem somewhat vile to me know with the experiences I’ve had. From just lectures to the retreats my spiritual side has gone from that of a holiday catholic to a Campus Ministry Student. From little things to big ethic topics I’ve changed in a multitude of ways, my Spiritual Autobiography looks like looks like someone else wrote it compared to any year before it. I think faith is one of the most important aspects of our life and it took me until last year to realize it.

I was a Follower of Christ and I didn’t even know it. I was the last of three boys to two faithful Christian parents. My parents attended St Paul’s Episcopal Church in Akron, OH. I was baptized and confirmed by the same Bishop. Some of my earliest memories are of me standing in the pews with my parents and stacking the prayer books as if it were my own pulpit and I would pretend to be the priest giving the Sunday sermon. I didn’t know what he was talking about but I always thought that I would be like him one day. I was an acolyte and attended the youth programs regularly with my friends. I completed my studies to earn my God and Country award with the Boy Scouts.

Furthermore, while taking the spiritual belief system selector quiz, I realized that a lot of these questions were very straight forward on what you believed in. When I finished the quiz my top result was “Mainline- Conservative Christian Protestant.” I was not surprised that I fell into the religion of Christian because I was raised as a Christian my whole life because my grandfather is a pastor.

My journey began approximately twenty-four years ago when I began volunteering in the summers at the local nursing home and at summer camp as a camp counselor with children and adults with special needs. This was when I realized that I felt good when I helped others and that I cared about their well-being, health and happiness. At that time, I sensed that God was calling me to care for others and meet their needs but I was still unsure as to how I could accomplish the task.

Our service-learning project required one of the following opportunities to be fulfilled, which are: to attend a service of different religious traditions, for a non-practicing individual to seek out someone who is, or to interview a religious leader. While attending a service, spending time with a religious person or conducting an interview we are to pay attention to differences and similarities between religious traditions or our own self. For my service-learning experience I have selected to reach out to my older sister who is part of a Jehovah Witness congregation. I selected this opportunity since I’m a non-practicing Catholic. I will share my service- learning experience by sharing our discussion regarding

As I grew up I attended a church daycare which taught us about the bible, Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed (AWANA), and other various church activities. I had always been around the Christian beliefs. However, my personal walk didn’t start until the summer after my freshmen year after attending a summer camp called Momentum; now, I am unashamed to claim that I am a Christian and I love to share my faith with other people.

It was rewarding working on Service Day at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church. Having my family by my side, we cleaned the campus grounds, and worked inside the sanctuary cleaning and polishing pews. It was a pleasure meeting people from the parish and making friendships. After attending Service Day, I felt pride, and reminisced about the fun I had working at the church with my friends. Consequently, I realized I wasn’t a member of the Church! Therefore, I spoke to my parents about how intensely my siblings and I wanted to become Catholic. Our family practices Christianity and believes in God, nevertheless it is an enormous commitment to become Catholic and join the Church.

Growing up I identified with being Christian (Methodist) because my grandparents were members of a Methodist church and I often attended services with them. Once I graduated high school and went to college, I began attending a nondenominational church which was a huge change from the religious experiences I had as a child. After my first experience at a nondenominational church I attended services throughout my remaining 4 years. Although I adopted my parents’ ways of worship early on prior to any life experiences, I later became independent and developed my own spiritual identity that I still identify with.

rowing up as a little Christian girl. As a little girl I was ambitious, I was a leader and very outspoken. Growing up shelter is a good and a bad thing. This good Christian girl starting to encounter life experience. Being a teen mother at a such young aged. Not finishing my education. Just not being financially stable to care for a family. Having the fear of the unknown keep's you in those situations.

As I consider the question for then personal ministry experience paper I realize that my personal life experience has shaped my life and calling tremendously. In fact I have stated many times that I wished I would have kept a daily journal of all the things the Lord has done in my life since I became a believer. But, as you will see as you read this paper, after becoming a Christian, and having now been saved for almost 13 years, I can look back and see the sovereign hand of the Almighty working throughout my life.

My faith journey has been challenged throughout my life. I have had many ups and downs, and many times when I questioned my faith. Although those times were rough, I found comfort in God and knowing that He is always there for me. One of my favorite quotes is “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:13. This quote got me through tough times when my faith was shaking.

My journey with God started in February of 1993, when I went to a ladies’ conference in Columbus, Texas. It was while the speaker was explaining that she knew there were some of us out in the audience, who felt guilty about something they had done in their past, and they did not feel that God could forgive them for it. But then she quoted from God’s word; “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, not principalities, no things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38-39 NASB) The speaker continued on to say that all we need to do is

When you first begin a class you never know what to expect. When I first began Intro to Ministry, I did not know the level of insight that I would have about myself and about the character of God. I have been able to combine the things that have happened in my past and things that are happening now to try to paint God's picture in my life to come. Although you do not need to pinpoint the exact moment in time when you received your call for it to be legible, I am thankful that I do. I think it was a series of people and events unfolding in my life and God opened my eyes to the plans He had for me that lead me to that night. The day that I accepted my calling to be a youth pastor (December 30,2015) I did not go into that evening thinking “I’m going to listen to God and go into Ministry” - but I guess you never do. Since then God has been preparing me emotionally, physically, and mentally through programs that I have gone through, people in my life such as my friends, family, and professors I have gotten to know during the short time that I have been at Indiana Wesleyan. I am nowhere close to being where I want to be but that is the beauty of accepting God's call into any type of ministry, you do not have to have it all figured out, you just have to trust Him.“God is a God of infinite variety, and His call comes to people in many ways.” (Drury, K. Pg.67). I didn’t receive my calling in a damascus road way, instead God knew my heart and character so He gave me my calling in a