I was fortunate enough to be born into a Christian household, so I've always been in close proximity to the gospel and the Christian faith. In fact, my faith was very important to me growing up; however, my focus started to shift when I entered high school.

While I never doubted God’s existence, I entered a phase where my faith took a backseat to everything else happening in my life. I tried to find meaning and purpose in other places, and soon became one of those Christians who simply checked the boxes. I showed up to church on Sundays and went to youth group every once in a while, but I was neglecting my personal relationship with Christ. Consequently, I developed some sort of works-based view of the gospel, simply going through the motions and living under the assumption that as long as I did the “basic Christian things” I’d be fine.

It wasn't until I finished college that I finally started to see the truth. Years of living for myself instead of the Lord had finally caught up to me as I started to feel an intense unfulfillment in my new stage of adult life. Around the same time, my girlfriend (now lovely fiancée, Ella, who I’m lucky enough to be marrying a week from today) started challenging me to become more of a spiritual leader. These two realities became the wake-up call I desperately needed. It was clear that I needed to stop living life as a man of good intentions and become a man of action in my faith.

This was the start of my journey back to a personal relationship with Christ and a proper understanding of the gospel. As I started to become more intentional in my faith and my prayer life, I finally started to see my own profound need for God’s grace. It became clear that there was nothing I could do to earn salvation but truly accept Christ as my savior and repent of my sins. Since then, I’ve witnessed God transform my heart, my relationships, and so much more for the better. And so, I’m excited to be baptized today as a public demonstration of my new life in Christ!