Galatians 5:16 says, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” We are human, we are going to sin and be tempted by what the world has to offer. There is something much better than the worldly desires and that is Jesus Christ our Lord and savior.
After my MiMi passed away my sophomore year of high school I was angry with God for two years. I had an encounter with him during a basketball game, and I started working on my relationship with him then. You see, up until then I was sitting in the back of the youth group, playing my phone, and not paying attention in church at all. In my first and second semester of college I partied, and I partied hard. I was drinking alcohol, smoking weed, sleeping with girls, and not living for Christ one bit. I was living in the mindset of, “It is okay God will forgive me.”
Also during my first year of school I met one of my best friends in the world, Lincoln Edwards. Linc pushed me to be great and was a huge influence in my life.
One summer night in 2023 I was bragging about how crazy this party I went to the night before was to Lincoln and another friend. He just started shaking his head, and when I asked him what was wrong, and I will never forget the words he said to me. He looked me in my eyes and said, “You think you’re cool doing all this? You say you’re a Christian but you’re not walking the walk, you’re just talking the talk.”
My heart sank, and I felt conviction I had never felt before in my life. I stayed up until 4 AM that night just staring at my ceiling, and then I heard God speaking to me. “Give it all to me.” I knew what He was saying to me, and I decided to make a change right then and right there.
Once I prayed and decided to change my life I decided to get baptized for the second time in my life. I was baptized when I was 8 years old, but I didn’t understand being a Christian then. On October 8, 2023 I walked down in front of my church, surrounded by my family and friends, and I was baptized again. I have seen Kelanie walk down the aisle, and I have seen the heartbeat of my daughter, but when I went under water and came back up a born again Christian, let me tell you that was the greatest moment of my life.
I am not perfect. I still struggle with sin, but I live my life for Christ now. My sister in law Kera sings a song for our church called “I’ve witnessed it.” One of the verses says, “To the broken I’ve witnessed it, to the hurt and I’ve witnessed it, to the lost I will witness it.” Those verses always touch my heart because I remember being lost and finding Jesus. I encourage everyone to surround themselves with people like Lincoln who challenge them to be better people and Christians.
Colossians 2:6 says, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him.”
Rays of Sunshine inc 