“In middle school, I began to struggle with anxiety, depression, my identity, and my relationship with food. I didn’t come from a gospel-preaching house. And while we occasionally went to Catholic mass, we didn’t know anything about having a personal relationship with God.
“As I reflect and look back, I see God was working in every detail. I see His divine sovereignty and providence even before I trusted in Him. When I began struggling in middle school, He pulled me out of my group of friends and placed me around friends who were believers. They would eventually also be the ones who invited me to Watermark.
“By the end of my eighth-grade year, I knew the gospel: God created relationship with man perfectly, yet we sinfully rebelled against Him. In order to restore harmony with God, we had to be cleansed of our sin. He sent His Son to live the sinless life we could not live, and then willingly died a death and bore our sin in exchange with His righteousness to us, allowing us now to live a life free from the penalty of sin and spend eternity with Him when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
“My family began coming to Watermark weekly, and I would eventually join a small group and start attending events for students like DTown and Camp Barnabas. I was doing good and godly things but wasn't doing them with God, leaving it all in vain. Although the tools were right in front of me to flourish, my vision was skewed and heart's desire was fickle, causing me to miss the whole point that I was meant to live in relationship with God.
“My time in high school was filled with tension. I had accepted Christ, so I knew I was saved. I wanted my life to look different, but I did not know how to make it happen. This season was also marked by crippling anxiety and dark seasons. I was trying to do everything on my own, and I prioritized all the wrong things – school activities, people, boys.
“My heart was so prone to wander, and it did. Hidden sin would get the best of me. A sexually impure relationship only led to even more sin. My heart was caught up in the wrong things, and I told no one. I thought I would take these secrets to my grave because I wanted to maintain my reputation. At the expense of my own faith, I wanted to fit in and wasn’t willing to go all in with God.
“Thankfully, because of the Holy Spirit’s conviction – I realized my sin was taking me places further than I wanted to go and places I did not want to be. By the end of my senior year, I realized I was entrenched in sin.
“By accepting the gospel in eighth grade, I knew I had been saved and was free from the penalty of my sin, but now, after confessing all of my hidden sin and seeing Jesus rightly, I could finally walk in that freedom. Galatians 5:1 was now true of my life. I was standing firm after confessing hidden sin for the first time. Jesus set me free by what He did on the cross!
“In college, I was surrounded by community and discipleship. I was learning to read my Bible and walk in a fruitful relationship with Christ. I was no longer living a double life! As a true, abiding relationship with Him was being formed, new habits were, as well.
“Even in this new life, I experienced a lot of grief and wrestling with God. Through deaths in my family, heartache from dating, and depression, life wasn’t easy. I battled a lot of similar things as I did in my early years, but now I had a foundation of hope! I had the chance to put my faith into practice by getting to walk with God not only on mountaintop experiences but also in life’s valleys.
“I have learned that the gospel isn’t a one-time thing. It is meant to affect us every day of our lives. I need to be reminded of the gospel daily. As I finish up my year in the Watermark Institute, I see more than ever that Scripture is always recounting God’s faithfulness, which continually allows me to see the greatest miracle of God saving His people for His own glory. Every story is a story of grace. He breathed life into my lungs and allowed me to be raised with Him in His resurrection to newness of life. No longer am I enslaved to lust, approval of man, and anxiety. His Spirit has allowed me to walk in the fullness of my identity in Christ.”
Learn more about small groups and events for students in 6th - 12th grade at Watermark.
College students (ages 18 - 22) gather weekly throughout our city and on different college campuses. Learn about Rally by Watearmark College.