I have many fond memories of reading my Bible and feeling close to Jesus as I grew up. Later on in high school I decided that since my faith had not waivered and was still going strong that this would be a good time to get baptized, so I did.
After high school I attended Bible school for a year. After Bible school the hardest years of my life began. I got depressed, had no work, and no education. I had to learn to lean on him when life felt terrible when I was depressed, to trust him when I was failing school, and to have patience when he taught me about the spiritual warfare.
God has taught me much and I consider myself blessed because of it. It hasn’t been easy, but I have learned that he is always there, is always forgiving, is always teaching and always loving. Through all of this, God has provided me with a job in Kelowna, a good education, a good wife, and many other blessings.
As a child of God, I love the fact that I am still a child and that I have a father who loves me and cares for me. He gives good gifts but he also disciplines. I still have a long way to go. A couple of verses that reminds me of these things are:
Hebrew’s 12:7-11 "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
