Testimonies

Finding My God

by john kehoe
03/08/17
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 The experience

Growing up I was always expected to go to church.  That meant taking a shower, putting on nice clothes and looking my best.  However, up until recently, that’s all it was to me.  I remember looking forward to church because I got to go to Sunday school.  I got to see my little friends, and get delicious snacks, and I heard bible stories.  I never used to think much of the bible stories because I was so distracted by other things, such as the snack and my friends.  Those days have passed, but those distractions still surround me.  I’m fifteen years old now, and my relationship with God is as strong as it was in those days.  I have been going through life calling myself a Christian, yet I never really knew what that entitled.  The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Christianity as, “The religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, or its beliefs and practices.”

Now, if you asked me to define myself as a Christian, I probably wouldn’t have told you any of that.  I would’ve said something like, “A Christian is someone who believes in God.”  Because that’s all I know about my so called beliefs.  I never tried to understand who God was, or why he was MY God.  I simply believed it because that’s what I was told to do.  A few years ago, my family and I moved to a new church, and I was prepared to go through the motions again.  And until recently, that has been the case.  

On March 1, I flew to Kenya with my father and some friends of ours.  When we got there, we were joined by the rest of or missionary team, including my older brother.  Even up until this point, I had called myself a Christian and had no idea what that meant.  Until a few nights ago I was sitting a fire outside.  I was with my brother, Alex, and a friend named Greg.  Alex and Greg could talk to each other for hours, because they were both very smart, whereas I usually don’t have as much to say.  So, there we were talking about our ideas of religion, and of course I had nothing to say.  I was perfectly content to sit and listen, but I never could’ve imagined what was about to happen.

I began to zone out of the conversation, when I looked at a tree in the distance.  I saw what I swear was a man standing in the tree, and before I could react, my mind said, ”That’s God.”  I was terrified.  I still believe that this was the most scared I had ever been in my life.  In fact, I was almost going to get up and run, but I couldn’t move, I was in shock.  I couldn’t speak because I was so amazed so Greg and Alex never knew something was happening.  The fear surrounded me, smothering me like a cloud of smoke.  I was completely unable to speak, move or even think, I was just staring at this figure in the tree.  It felt like forever had gone by, and I was finally coming back around.  I sat in my chair staring blankly at the tree and seeing the branch that I so strongly believed was Him.  Only it was different, it was much clearer now and this was no mistake, I saw something there.  I was so confused that I couldn’t find a way to describe what had happened.  I was overwhelmed with Joy and had no idea why.  It felt like a weight had been lifted of my shoulders and I knew that Jesus was in me.  

This experience was like nothing I have ever felt before, and I know that God was there that night.  I feel like a new person now, and I am beginning to try to understand religion and I feel closer to God then I ever have.  It is already apparent that He is working in my life and I am so thankful that he presented himself the way he did.  God is now a much larger part of my life and I pray that everyone will be able to find him the way I did that night.