Matt’s Journey.
Note: This is a work in progress. God isn’t finished with me yet.
I always felt I knew who God was. I grew-up in a “normal” home with with a mom and dad and an older brother. I remember going to vacation bible school and occasional church on Sunday. My best friend growing-up invited me to VBS once and I was saved when I was about 10. The only reason I was saved was because some of the older kids told me that if I wasn’t saved, I would be sent to hell and die. So I did what any right-minded kid would do, give in to peer pressure and be saved. I had no idea what that really meant.
Once I began a teenager things went a little weird. I was left alone – at least what felt like alone. My grandmother passed away when I was 15 and I took it pretty hard. I was, like most of us, selfish and not understanding why/how a loving God could let this happen to me. I mean, I prayed at night and owned a bible that was never opened – wasn’t that enough? I was so upset with God that he took my grandma away from me and the rest of the family. It was almost a hatred.
Throughout high school I did some underage drinking because I thought it was cool. I actually had a friend buy me a key chain that said “hello, my name is alcoholic”. I struggled in 11th grade English because I stopped caring. I hung around with people that I thought were my friends – some still are – but I was making a lot of bad decisions in what I was saying and what I was doing. In my senior year, I felt like I was on top of the world – getting wasted on the weekends and started messing with drugs. Not that I was addicted by any means, but it certainly felt good to have that numb feeling, so I thought.
Fast forward a few years and I started to straighten up a little and got a real job working for the man. Here I met my wife when I was 23. She was with her then fiance.
After a year of working with my wife, her and the fiance broke up. He had a lot of issues with alcohol and drugs, and took his own life one of the first nights when my wife and I had one of our first dates. It was terrible. Here I was thinking I found the love of my life, only to have her ripped away from me by some selfish act. I soon realized that God had other plans.
I prayed for God to give me the strength that I needed to help this beautiful, amazing brown-eyed girl in her time of need. You never really know you love someone until you sacrifice your own self to help someone else. This connection I was having with God was making me want to know more of him, but I had NO idea how.
Fast forward a few years and I met one of my co-workers, Barry. I knew he was Christian and we talked about his church, Fellowship Bible Church, and his experience with God. All of the talks were uncomfortable for me, but we made it work. I knew something big was about to happen, but I wasn’t sure what. I remember telling Barry when we were coming back from lunch one day that I felt like I wanted to know God, but I guess I just stopped caring. Being boldly awesome as he is, Barry looked right at me and told me that God has never stopped caring me for never stopped looking. It took everything I had to not fall to the ground right where I was. I remember thinking, this guy is on to something.
Draw Near to God and He Will Draw Near to You
I went home that Friday night and finally prayed. I prayed to God for forgiveness, for strength, for direction, to put Christians in my life that would help me grow, learn and love better. I boldly asked God for a sign – all well I confessed all of things I did wrong in my life sobbing like a little girl. God was near.
The next day at 9am I heard a knock at my front door. I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. When I opened the door I was greeted by an older man in his 60′s. Come to find out he was the senior pastor at the Church of the Valley. He was handing out flyers about his church. Kindly, I took the flyer, shook his hand and shut the door without as much as saying a word. Standing there, alone in my living room, it hit me. God sent a sign. He sent a follower of Christ to my door step. He could have turned his back, said this red headed guy was too far gone, not worth it, but he cared. I fell to my knees and wept, praising God and thanking him for loving me. I ran out the parking lot and chased the pastor down and told him what just happened. We talked on my front porch and he prayed for me. It was amazing. God cared.
A few after that, and days before my wedding to my beautiful, amazing and wonderful wife, I had the opportunity to meet up with an old friend of mine, Zach King, and interview him about his recent mission trip from Honduras.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come!
Zach and I met through a group of friends about 6 years ago. He was about 14 and I was the older one trying to be a bad influence. I remember interviewing Zach and thinking, this is not the punk kid I remember from long ago. This was a follower and believer of Christ. A changed man. I remember being proud. I told Zach of my prayer to God and how the pastor came to my door the next day. King loved it and invited me to Abundant Life Church, where Zach and I were baptized on 2.15.09.
Fast forward a few years and God has given me so much that I never deserved. A wife who puts up with me, a family in repair, brothers in Zach, Barry, and Aaron, all for a different reasons, and the blessing to be surrounded by a family of friends, both Christians and non-Christian. I’ve went from a wayward soul to a soldier for Christ. He as put me in charge of a Junior High School Youth Group - scary and a blessing. The guys are amazing and all come from different backgrounds and walk in faith. God is good. God is in control. He loves us in ways we will never know on this side of heaven. Get to know him. It’s awesome!
