When I look back on my time in high school before I was living my life for the Lord, I am overwhelmed by the captivity that marks those years. I spent so much time seeking satisfaction from cups with holes in the bottom that only left me empty in the end. I sought affirmation from the people I went to school with, trying to hang out with the people that would give me societal value or wear clothes that would make me fit in. I did the activities the “in-crowd” would do, from constantly talking about other people to football games to parties and more. While I didn’t see the holes at the bottom of the cup then, Jesus came into my life and gave me a brand new cup that actually filled up, and I began to understand what being satisfied truly meant. Instead of running around chasing something I could never fully achieve (the most popular, the richest person, etc.), I hunkered down and looked to Jesus. 

This God who created the universe and everything in it, who created mankind to live with Him. A mankind who walked away from Him, deciding they knew better and could be the gods of their own lives. Deciding we knew what was best separated us from God, but He wanted us back so much that He came down to this broken world in the form of a man. In an act of justice and love he paid the price that needed to be paid to return His people back to Him. He is everything good, and instead of letting us rot in all the bad He DESIRES that we be with Him in only good things forever! He loves us that much, that He would suffer death on a cross just to be with us again when WE were the ones who messed up and walked away from Him!! 

While my life used to be marked by captivity, now it’s marked by freedom. I began to understand how good God was to die for me, and it made me want to give Him everything I have (because it’s all stuff He gave me in the first place anyways). Now I live my life going wherever He tells me to and doing whatever He tells me to do, because when I’m the one in charge I leave feeling unfulfilled and empty. Our world is full of billions of people still holding the reigns they weren’t meant to hold, deciding what they think is just and who deserves what. The joy, peace, and fulfillment I’ve received since giving God the reigns back is unlike anything I can describe. I desire so much that everyone I know would get to experience this same freedom. It breaks my heart that there are people both here in Panama and in my own backyard that haven’t experienced that freedom. If you’ve experienced this freedom for yourself, please join me in praying for our brothers and sisters around the globe that haven’t. If this freedom is something you’ve never felt but desire for yourself, go get it! I’d love to talk more about it or answer any questions you may have. God is waiting to speak to you through prayer, the Bible, & other Christians. He rejoices in your homecoming. 

This is just a little bit of my own testimony, and the great thing is that God can do the same thing for you. All my life I called myself a Christian, but it wasn't until my senior year of high school that I really began to surrender my life to the Lord and experience true freedom. When I committed to the race, I was asked to get a mentor to meet with bi-weekly and study the Bible. Doing this is what introduced me to the character of God, and this is where I fell in love with Jesus. The race changed my life before I even went on it! Ask me more about it, I'd love to share!