I have grown up in a Christian home my whole life, and for most of my childhood, being a Christian just meant going to church on Sundays and having a religion to follow. I always say that I believed it in my head, but not genuinely in my heart.

I started going to a new church when I was in the 8^th grade, and towards the end of the year, my pastor came up to me and asked if I was going on the summer mission trip. I had never been on a mission trip before and honestly didn’t really want to go, but my mom signed me up anyway. Little did I know that the work God would do in me that summer would change me forever.

I had just gotten home from dance nationals in Orlando and was so exhausted. I was leaving for my mission trip (called Spoke Folk) the next day, and pouted about it that whole morning because I didn’t know anyone and would rather stay home. I packed up my bags, headed to my church, and left for 13 days of greatness. I had never experienced such a close knit group of people that love Jesus so much. Each night we would do a different devotion, and one of those will forever be engrained in my memory and hold a special place in my heart. This specific devotion was called the Burning Devo. What we did was write something that we struggled with on a piece of paper and throw it into the fire. As I stood there and watched it burn, the gospel just became real for me. Something about seeing my sins just disappear made me honestly realize what Jesus’ death on the cross meant for me. I had never really understood how much He truly loved me and forgave me, no matter what! To think that I was enough for a God that would carry the burden of all of the sins in the world, and would do that just to save one person if that is what it would take, blew me away and completely overwhelmed me. That night was the first time that I had ever truly felt God. He was just so present as I watched my sins disappear while there was thunder and lightning in the distance. After that moment of clarity we sang “How Great Is Our God”, and I couldn’t help but bawl my eyes out because I had never felt love and forgiveness like that.

From that point on I decided that I was going to make Jesus the main priority in my life. I am a dancer and during that trip I realized that I had made dance an idol and spent more time thinking about that than God. I decided that I wasn’t going to let that happen anymore. I started missing one day of ballet and going to youth group instead because God is the one who gave me the gifts I have anyway. It was this point in my life that I had a relationship rather than just a religion.

Jesus has completely changed my heart since that day I stood in awe of Him in the middle of Michigan. This sounds really dramatic, but my reason for living everyday changed. He has become my motivation behind everything I do, and I see everything as a gift from Him rather than something else that should be above Him in my list of priorities. I also no longer have to carry my burdens, which is huge because I can tend to be a bit of a worry wort. Knowing that whatever comes my way is in the hands of the God who created the world and loves me so much puts my mind at so much ease. Jesus is someone who I can always put my trust in, because He will never fail me. Along with the weight of my burdens being carried for me, he also gives me joy like nothing else. I am usually a pretty happy person, but when I have been lacking on spending time with God, I can tell a difference in myself. I don’t feel as content and joyful without Him. C.S. Lewis said “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

I chose to make Jesus my best friend because He loves all of us so much that he allowed men to put nails through his hands for our sake, and forgives us of anything, if we simply ask. He is my safe place. I know that I can always trust in Him, and that he has a plan for everything in my life, even if I can’t see it in that moment. I know this because I have seen Him work things out in my life that I would never of pictured happening in the way that it did.

I chose Him because I realized that He chooses me every day. He never stops choosing us! He loves me, He teaches me, He protects me, and He has saved me. My hope in this life is that I can show His love to every person that I meet so that they may see Him through me. I want everyone to know the ultimate best friend you can have, named Jesus.