How I got reeled in...

Hi guys! So today I want to give you a little insight into my life and how I found Christ. Christ is the most important part of my life and while I know that everyone is on their own journey, I think it might be helpful to see how my journey to Christ started. So here it goes....

Firstly, I want to thank God for the parents and friends that he's given me. I grew up in a Christian home. In fact the first church I ever attended was KICC. Well, the one I remember anyways. My parents used to take me to church and on the weekdays, or when I didn't go to Sunday school, I used to sleep in church. My dad's shoulder or even his laps used to be my pillow, I used to full on put my little legs on the seats and my head on my dad's laps (hahaha). It was my little hotel room basically (Lord forgive me).

Let's be honest, which one of you can say you've never fallen asleep in church. As a little girl, hearing the pastor speak was so boring to me at the time. Cause I really didn't understand what was going on, but I used to enjoy the praise and worship and the pre-planned snacks my parents packed for me LOL.

Anyways, my point is, I obviously didn't know Jesus then, but I was placed in an environment of love and Christ by my parents from a young age. So my parents eventually took me to Nigeria, and after a while, I ended up in boarding school. Guys!!!! I used to give my life to Christ almost every Sunday!!! Anytime they said, "if you want to give your life to Christ stand up, or raise your hands", best believe I used to be among hahahaha.

I didn't know what I was doing then, but I think I must have felt a pull, because I wanted to be right with God. 11 year old me used to look at the obvious sins in the Bible and tick them off to show that I wasn't doing any of those things (P.S that's not real salvation, a topic for another day).

Then one day, by this time we stopped going to KICC anymore, but we used to go for their major programmes. So, one day, my mum had gone to one of KICC's programmes and I went to meet her, on getting there, they asked for those who wanted to give their life to Christ and I personally believe that, that was the day I really accepted Jesus into my life. I didn't understand it then, but that was when the Holy Spirit started to do little things that would let me know that there was a God with me.

Anyways, I was still a child and I was still going to church with my parents, but I wasn't sure I was going because I wanted to, or because my parents had become pastors and I had to.

But when I went to university, everything changed. That was when I learnt how to thirst for God. It's when I found out that I wanted to grow in Christ and I wanted to be a child of God. Not because I had to, or because my parents told me to, or because that's how I was brought up. No, it was because I had the desire to. It's because I found my treasure inside of God.

University was so enlightening. It was like the cobwebs were wiped away and I could see the joy and laughter and peace to be gained in Christ. I joined the church choir there and I met the most wonderful people.

Christianity was portrayed as this boring religion where you had to follow the law and you couldn't really have fun or live a wonderful life. But university showed me that the general perception of Christianity was so so wrong.

Guys!!! The environment you place yourself in and the people you surround yourself with could either break you, or enliven your thirst and love for God. It's so important to surround yourself with the right people. People who will push you to want more of God and people who will make being in Christ much more fun for you. The more you spend time in God's presence, talking about certain things in the Bible and worshipping, the more you crave to do it again.

I truly believe that was God's plan, to get me to that place, to help me meet those people, people who were like-minded in Christ and also learning. I believe we were able to push ourselves and enjoy the process, which made it much easier to know more of God.

It was in uni that I started to really see that God was with me and I believe that was when I really committed to Christ. Because now, no one can convince me that God is not real. No one can convince me that God isn't good, or kind, or sweet, or merciful. Finally, no one can ever make me think that being a Christian is boring.

If you haven't found God, or if you don't know why you're in Christ, or if you're a Christian because of tradition, nature and environment, please pause, look inside yourself and ask God.

I always tell people this, you don't have to pray a religious prayer to get to God. The most beautiful prayers are the sincere prayers, where you just talk to God like He's right beside you, like God is your dad or your friend.

Sometimes, I start my prayers with "Yo God" or "Hi daddy", because God is much realer than the religious prayers make Him seem. So be sincere, ask God to help you, ask God to direct you and to open your eyes to see His love for you and to see the fun, joy and laughter when you live in Christ.

Once again, Jesus loves you, I love you, so let's live life to it's fullness.

Esther xoxo