SARAH'S JOURNEY

For my whole life, church has always been the normal, I don’t think I’ve ever not gone to church. I went to Waringstown Presbyterian Church with my family basically from I was born until I was about 16. Growing up in a Christian family was really special. It allowed me to know from a very young age that Jesus loves us. Although, if I'm honest, it kind of took away how personal this was because I always just thought of it like 'God loves everyone' but not me personally. At a really young age, I became a Christian, although at that time I would have literally prayed “the prayer” every night just in case the other prayers didn’t count. And so, I obviously didn’t fully understand what it all meant.

I went to Maralin Primary School and was definitely very sheltered. I genuinely just thought that everyone was a Christian. And so, it was really easy to be a Christian because no one questioned or challenged me about it. Although, when I went to Lurgan Junior High it was so different. I guess this was when I realised that I was now very outnumbered and that in fact, not everyone loved Jesus.

When I was in first year, some of the girls in my year invited me to a big youth event in Emmanuel Church. So, like everyone else, I decided to go along. That night was so significant for me. They made a call for people to either give their life to Jesus for the first time or else to recommit their life back to Him. I remember standing in the row, my heart was pounding and I just knew that this was something I needed to do. I always knew who Jesus was, but yet I didn’t know Him personally, I guess I had kind of been living from my parents’ faith. And so, I decided to go up and give my 'yes' to Jesus. There wasn’t a big boom or anything, but I just knew in my heart that I had made a decision that would completely change my life forever.

I wish I could say that from that moment I knew exactly what I was doing or that my whole life was completely changed, because apart from the fact that I knew I had made a lifetime commitment, the way I was living wasn't much different from before. That summer I went to Summer Madness (it’s a big Christian youth festival in Glenarm) and on the Saturday night, I encountered the holy spirit, something I had never experienced before. Honestly, it kind of freaked me out, and I wasn’t overly sure what was going on, yet there was something about it that I knew I didn’t want to miss out on. At that moment, I realised that following Jesus is about a relationship, and that it is more than just praying a prayer. That moment for me was like a light switch, I realised it was something I had to be all in, I couldn’t just go to church and hope that was enough, it needed to be a sacrifice.

I guess from that moment my life mantra has been Romans 12 v1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship”. I love this verse so much, it’s just such a great reminder to me about giving God our everything, not just the things we want to but actually our everyday things.

From that moment in 2012 at Summer Madness, it’s been such a journey for me. Somethings have been easier than others while somethings have been really difficult. And to be clear, in the tougher times it’s been hard to always be ‘All in’. Yet, even though life changes all the time, one minute you’re in one season and the next you’re in another, the one thing that doesn’t change, is that ‘God Loves ME’. I love this because it means that God loves me for me. Not because I’ve done something to earn it or because I’ve reached a level of ‘holiness’ but just because He does. No matter how hard it is for us to get our heads around this, it’s TRUE.

I really want you to know today, that God loves ‘YOU’! Never forget that, because it’ll change how you view yourself but also how you view God!