Growing up I thought going to church, following rules, and believing in a God was full of baloney. Why would someone follow all of these rules for a God they can’t see/know? These were my thoughts until my junior year of high school. One night, I said yes to my friends that were begging me to come to their youth group. I thought to myself “Maybe if I go, they will stop asking me.” Little did I know, that night would have completely changed the way I viewed God. As I worshipped and heard an incredible sermon, I felt the weight of shame, depression, and bitterness fall off me and God started to stir up a desire in me to know who He was. I attended a youth group every week after that night because I wanted to be more like Christ, but I also still wanted my own lifestyle, my worldly lifestyle. It wasn’t until the night before I left to start my journey at SUNY Oneonta that I broke up with my significant other and got down on my knees and surrendered all of my worries and fears to God. I knew I needed to be all in if I wanted to fully know God’s heart for me.
My first few weeks in Oneonta, I still felt like I was torn between living a worldly lifestyle and living in who Christ has called me to be. I then found Campus Ambassadors and little did I know that God could transform who I was through a college ministry. I began to desire God’s ways over anything else, I jumped on any opportunity I could to serve, I became a small group leader and God continued to align my desires with His. And, I knew that I was never going to stop believing in Jesus because I saw Him not only transform my life, but I also saw Him transform my peer’s lives through being a part of Campus Ambassadors.
The summer going into my senior year of college, I was sent home because of COVID -19 and that was a very challenging, yet pivotal season in my walk with the Lord. I was surrounded by my family and friends who didn’t know the Lord and I began questioning things about the Lord – “Why is homesexuality a sin?” “Why is sex before marriage a sin?” “What is the Lord’s heart for me if I do fall into sin?”. These questions catapulted me to the Lord because I ultimately wanted to know God’s heart not only for me, but for the people around me who were falling into these types of sin. I can confidently say that because of that season of questioning God’s character and heart, I grew closer to Him because I began to realize that God wanted me to question, He wanted to show me the depths of His heart for me.
Now, I am not only a SUNY Oneonta graduate, but I am a bold, strong, loving woman of God because I surrendered my ways and allowed Him to use me. Thank you Campus Ambassadors for giving me the opportunity to dig deeper in my walk with the Lord – I now plan to pursue my masters degree in Christian counseling and I am marrying a man who I met at Campus Ambassadors my first year in Oneonta. I am immensely grateful.
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