Why DO I believe what I believe? I’m not going to give you a long rant about what I believe, because, for me, it’s not only what I believe, but purely why. But for you to truly understand what I say, I have to give you some background information.

I supposedly “accepted” Jesus when I was in kindergarten. Like I knew what I was doing. My parents divorced when I was in the second grade, late 1999. In January of 2000, my dad (Tom) flew off to Vegas and remarried. Looking back now, I still can’t understand how quickly and easily he was able to replace me, my mother, and my sister.

My mom remarried the man I now see as my dad in September of 2000. I thought that this new man (David) was trying to take my dad’s place. So I did what every other confused and hurt twelve-year-old would do. I shut everyone out. It hurt so much to think that my own father figured I was replaceable.

To make matters worse, I moved to Rejoice in the seventh grade. To me, this was an internal battle big enough to be called World War III. I was the outsider to this tight-knit group of kids that treated each other like family. I was so alone.

Up to this point in my life, God had been on the backburner, brought up front every now and then when I went to a church camp or a revival or something like that. I was fourteen and living on the spiritual high. Somehow I made it through the seventh grade. Eighth was a little better, but then again, the only way to go when you hit rock-bottom is up. Right?

During the ninth grade, I met a boy. You’re probably rolling your eyes and I’ll agree, I know this sounds real stupid, but it sort of ties in with the point that I’m trying to get to. But to make a really really long story short, we didn’t last.

So there I was. Middle of my sophomore year, heartbroken, and crying out for help. God answered. He is the Heartbreak Healer. But I still didn’t truly grasp His power, if you will, until that following summer.

I went to SC ’08, that is, State Camp 2008. It’s a state-wide church camp in Talihina, OK. And it rocked my world. During one of the last services, Michael Boggs, who was the lead singer of the band, asked us to get in the position we’d be in if Jesus were standing or sitting right next to us. I soon found myself on my knees, bent over, pouring my heart out to God.

Reflecting on my troubled childhood, I realize that I had had a Friend when I was the new kid here at Rejoice, and a Father when mine had decided to skip out of my life.

Now that I’ve given you some interesting tidbits about my life, I can tell you what I believe and why, if you haven’t already figured it out. It’s simple. What do I believe in? I believe in God. Why? Because He’s always been there for me. Through everything I’ve put myself through, all the guys, the people that have said they were my friends, all the sticky situations, God’s always been there. And I know He will always be there for me because one night I was skimming through the Bible and I came to this verse, Psalms 145:18, “God’s there, listening for all who pray, for all who pray and mean it.”

I’ll end by saying my favorite verse. It’s Psalms 40:31, but I’m not sure which version this comes from. “When it seems all hope is lost, those who believe in You O Lord will find a new hope and a new strength and soar high on wings like eagles.”