New Believer One

Everyone has their own story, their own experiences in their journey to God, Sam is no different. Her journey actually began in a household where the family was practicing paganism, rituals and all... She had seen many people growing up that had left the Christian faith to follow the ways of paganism, so the thought of becoming a believer in Christ was not ever entertained. As she was in middle school and into high school she began having more and more thoughts of who God and Jesus really was. And literally, one day, she woke up and felt like she had to go to a church. "Like woke up, couldn't sleep anymore, and just had to go to church. Every fiber in my being was screaming to go, and I did. That day I accepted Jesus into my life."
Sounds pretty simple, and yet so dramatic! Sam said that day didn't make everything easy, so many of her friends, let alone family, were still involved in paganism. She's been learning that there are a lot of habits needed to be broken.
What was the one thing that pushed her to make the step of faith? Sam believes it was just the Holy Spirit in her saying 'Hey, pay attention now, you've put this off too long and it's just time now'. She feels like she didn't have a choice in the matter. In fact, she said she doesn't think she ever had been that compelled to do what she did that first time she went to church.
The best part of becoming a follower of Jesus is her faith. "Faith in God and Jesus gives me hope, and without that, I would be dead," she said. "I rely on my faith everyday for something". Sometimes it's about how she's going to make payments, and sometimes it's "Lord please take this hurt away from my soul, its hurting so bad that I wanna die." Her faith is real. Her faith is her strength.
But still, the most challenging part of becoming a follower of Jesus is keeping life in balance. Needing to feel God near all the time for His peace. As a pagan, she used to rely on the energy of the people around her to keep going. Now that she has decided to follow God, His presence is what keeps her going... she added that "it's the same, but better". When she can't feel Him she has a hard time focusing on her faith, and without faith she says she can't function.
So what has helped Sam to grow in her faith? "Inspiration. Inspiration helps me grow in my faith more than anything." She says that she is an artist, a creator at heart. Sam feels that her inspiration comes from God and what He has created. Lately it's been trees. As she studies the things that inspire her she finds herself drawing closer to God.
We learn from each other and our experiences, so I asked her what advice she had for me that would allow me to help people like herself grow further in their faith. "Prayer! Specifically for pagans that have converted, prayer is very important." She said that prayer gives them the same connection and feelings that they would have gotten from a ritual, and makes them feel more at home. She also mentioned encouraging people to use their gifts that God has given them. "A lot of people ignore these things, but to a pagan, that's what their life has been about".
Sam's story is awesome... I love the fact that she is making strides towards knowing the God we serve more. My encouragement to her through the time together was through His Word. Reminding her that He will never leave us or forsake us, that Faith is not something we can see or feel, it's something we trust, believe and hope for, regardless of our situations. He is always there, just like He was when He initially was compelling her to come. As with any new believer (or any believer for that fact) the bible must be central to personal growth on our journey toward God. As we talked, I am quite aware that there are still pieces from her pagan roots that will need to be torn down along the way; I pray for opportunity to guide in that process and ask the Holy Spirit to be as compelling as in the beginning to enable her to make the bold steps ahead.