Laura Heald
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Laura Heald's Story
Revelations of Truth
I grew up in the church, but never understood what it was really about
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salvation, success, grades, purpose, church
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Before I knew God personally, I tried to find happiness in grades and success in school. It made me happy when I got higher grades than my classmates. I also tried to find security through popularity. This did not work out so well because no matter what I did I did not feel accepted by the kids I considered to be "popular."
I was raised in a Christian family, and always went to church every week. Although I did not particularly enjoy it, I knew that it was something I was supposed to do. In my head good people went to church on Sunday, that is just what they did. I went to Sunday School and knew most of the answers. Like school, I felt that knowing the answers was enough. I did not understand that there was more to Christianity.
About half way through by sixth grade year I went on a retreat with my youth group for middle schoolers. It was during this weekend that I had a real encounter with God. I could feel his presence in the room and knew that there was something different about the people there and the activities that went on. There was more than just singing and going through the motions. One night a high school girl got up on stage and shared her story of her life. Although I do not remember anything at all about her story, I do remember her talking about this personal relationship she had with Jesus Christ. This was something I don't remember ever hearing about before. I didn't know that God actually wanted to be my friend. Sure, I had heard that God loved me, but this was a different story. She explained that she had Jesus in her heart and that she knew him personally because she had surrendered her life to Him. She had admitted to God that she had done many things wrong in her life, which is what the Bible calls sin, and that she needed His forgiveness. She explained that it is by grace, Gods totally unearned forgiveness, that we are saved, that is we are forgiven of wrongs and given eternal life. She also explained that no matter how "good" we are we cannot make it into Heaven by our own efforts. This had been my perception of Christianity. I thought that as long as I go to church and I'm a "good enough" person I would go to Heaven. That night they invited us to come up to the alter and pray. It was there that I knew this was something I needed and wanted to do. I knew that I did not have Christ in my life in this personal way, and that was something I wanted. I prayed for God to forgive my sins. I knew I was not perfect and that I never could be. I prayed that Christ would come into my life and that by His grace and forgiveness I would go to Heaven one day. Although I did not fully understand all of it at the time, God accepted my prayer, and my life has not been the same since.
After I trusted Christ with my life things started to change. Different things I had read about in the Bible or heard about in church started to make sense on a deeper level. I began reading my Bible more often and learning more about God. Over time I had discovered more of God's plan for my life and I have learned what it means to really worship God. Worshiping God is about so much more than attending a weekly service and singing a few songs. The real meaning of "worship" is to give honor and praise to God. I can worship God with my life and everything that I do. In 1 Corinthians 10:31 "whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" and in Romans 12:1 it says "take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering." This revelation changed the way I viewed school work and getting good grades. I no longer worked my butt off just to bring myself satisfaction; I could work hard to bring Glory to God. He has blessed me with the opportunity to attend the University of Florida, and I want to do my best for Him.