Personal Narrative: Struck By Grace

Struck by grace. Three words to easily sum up my experience the summer of 2016. My first year of university came with many challenges; living on my own in a new city came with a lot of personal adjustments. Often times I felt lonely, sad, and isolated without my friends and family back at home to turn to. Days felt like weeks, and weeks felt like months, but the long nights were the times where I was able to deeply reflect on my personal life. By the end of the year, I came to the realization that the missing piece to my heart I was desperately searching for, was Christ. During the summer of 2016, a good friend whom I met in university invited me to her church’s youth camp. I honestly did not think much of it other than it being …show more content…
I shared my story about the impacts the divorce of my parents had on me and the strong desire I had to seek for deeper relationships. Through the period of pain, sadness and confusion, I had no choice but to learn to grow up and mature quickly. Amongst the transitional life change, I was unable to hold on to my faith and ultimately withdrew from God. I began to resent my dad, not because the divorce affected me, but having to see the depths of pain and sorrow my mom had to go through broke my heart. After the divorce, I found myself to be very reserved and found it difficult for me to open to people, especially guys, as I would be afraid that they disappear from my life the same way my dad did. There was a special moment as I was sharing my trials where the Holy Spirit spoke to me, allowing me to realize that all this time I wasn’t yearning the love and care from my dad. Rather, it was the relationship I once had with God. After sharing my story with my youth group and leaders, I felt a lot of weight being instantly lifted off of me. The raw emotions, tears, vulnerable state I was in, whole heartedly allowed me to believe that it was not by chance that I was there with this …show more content…
I was once a shy, introverted girl who yearned to seek new adventures but was too afraid, but that was the old me. The new and improved version of myself learned to be more willing to trying new things, and I also learned that having the courage to speak out and ask for help in times of need does not show signs of weakness, it is the complete opposite. Last but not least, something I learned that keeps me filled with positive thoughts is that because of God’s love and grace, He would never burden us or put anyone in any given situation that would be too much for them to handle. Knowing this, it gives me strength and wisdom to overcome the daily challenges I face. Two years ago I would not have come close to agreeing with the saying “one experience can truly change your life.” To think that it is possible to overcome a burden I carried for 14 years in a single moment would sound like a miracle to many, but I can genuinely, whole-heartedly tell you, it happened, God is powerful. God was with me through every moment of this journey, watching out and protecting me. Through this experience, not only did I grow in my faith, but I grew as a person, overcame my social anxiety, and developed deeper connections and relationships