My Conversion Story

     I was recently on the Bible Thumping Wingnut Sunday hangout and podcast (just listened in, didn't engage at all) and listened as Tim's guest, a gentleman named Larry, gave his testimony. To say I was surprised would be an understatement in that it mirrored my own so closely for a time!
  This got me thinking, as some in the chat asked me about my own story, and rather than continuously repeat myself, I thought I'd share with all of you.
     I was raised in a very Roman Catholic family. The vast bulk is still Roman Catholic. My father was in the Air Force, and shortly after my birth, we were moved to Keflavík Iceland. My earliest memory is from there. As I grew up, my parents would take me to church with them, and while I was still relatively young, I tried hard to be a part. This didn't last. I got nothing from the service, it seemed all pageantry and pomp, all flash and no substance. It quickly became a chore, rather than a pleasure, to sit there for what seemed an eternity on a Sunday morning.
     As I got into high school, my parents stopped making me go. High school was a difficult time, often bullied, unable to fit in. However, it wasn't until I began learning about evolution, that I finally gave up any pretence of their being a God. Aside from someone to blame when things went wrong.
     I met the woman who would become my wife as a senior in high school. We were friends, and through a series of unflattering circumstances on my part, began dating. After a few weeks, she invited me to go to church with her one Sunday night. I had nothing better to do, so decided at the very least, I'd be able to hang out with her for an extra couple of hours. It was a decision that set me on the path I currently travel, and I know was ordained by God.
     I remember, standing as people sang around me, but not knowing the words, just keeping my mouth shut. Then, the pastor began to preach. His first words weren't about his golf game (a very commonplace event when I attended Mass) but the word of God. Then he unpacked them, explained them, showed how they worked and what they meant in our day to day lives. I was dumbstruck. It was as if the words in the Bible in front of me, the one from the back of the pew, suddenly made sense. Before when I'd read the Bible (one given me by my grandmother) it was gibberish. I couldn't make heads or tails of it. Now suddenly, it came to me like I'd known it all along!
     I didn't jump up right there and yell "Hallelujah!" at the top of my lungs, and it was still some time before it registered what was happening to me, but nevertheless, it did happen.
     Today, I stand here, 16 years a Christian, 13 years married to that same woman who took me to church, and still growing in my faith. I still stumble, I still sin, but by the grace of God, putting a good woman in my life, I've been saved from the pits of hell.
     Now it's your turn. Do you know what it took me almost 18 years to find out? That God the Son, came to this earth and humbled himself to the point of becoming flesh, to live a perfect and sinless life, to die upon a cross to bear our sins, and to rise again 3 days later. That in that we can find true peace with God. That He loves us so much, that He would take a punishment for us, because as the Bible States, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." That "all", is universal. Every person has sinned, myself chief among them. So don't believe the lie of Satan that you're not good enough for God to love, because believe me, He does. When you put your faith in Jesus, God sees  His eternal son, He sees us as His adopted child, not the sinner. Jesus's sacrifice has taken that away, and now God sees you as clean! So if you wish to know more, let me know, find a solid Bible believing church, do whatever it takes, but don't let this pass! God bless you!