As a kid, I imagined God to be a gigantic bearded old man with a deep angry voice. In his hand is a thunderbolt ready to strike anytime we do something bad. My very first ideas about God sparingly came from two things- my Religion class in school and Saturday mornings of the cartoon “Superbook.” I remember this episode where God became so pissed with the Israelites that he struck them with disease resulting in massacre of the entire generation! That horrified me. So when I was “bad” I would “sacrifice” a short story I’ve carefully handwritten by tearing it to pieces hoping to appease God’s anger.

In Religion class, I got the impression that he likes people who speak softly, eat only vegetables and wear really uncomfortable layers and layers of clothing. And to be able to talk to him, you need to have some sort of “stigmata”. Living on clouds high above us, I saw God as an unreachable being. He sometimes just fancies to talk to persons like that of I described.

At a young age, I felt a strong sense discontent in life. My parents required me to have good grades so that I can land a high paying job and have everything I want. That didn’t quite appeal to me. So what if I have all the money in the world? Is life entirely about that? Have ever felt that you’re just going around circles- sometimes your up sometimes you’re down and it just goes round and round? I felt like life was just an exhausting cycle of ups and downs. There has to be more to life, I thought. Despite the distorted picture I had of God, I BELIEVED that he controlled everything and had the answers to life’s questions. After all, he’s supposed to be the “supreme being”. So I decided to give my life to God hoping to find meaning in life.

That was 13 years ago. Surely, I made the right decision to dedicate my life to Him. He continually transforms me everyday to be the best that I can be. I’ve also debunked my wrong ideas about Him. I guess when you’re interested in someone its not enough just to hear stories or read about them. A relationship is necessary. The following are three things I know to be true about Him.

He is closer than we think.

God is an awesome being whose thoughts and ways are entirely different from ours. It is impossible to completely understand and reach Him. Nevertheless, He still wants us to be close to Him! So bad that He sent His son, Jesus to show us His ways and WHO He is. And when Jesus resurrected, He gave His Holy Spirit to guide us in following Him. That Spirit will dwell in all who decide to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Therefore, I can say that God is always with me! I can talk to Him anytime and anywhere (people call this prayer). Yes, even though I wear normal clothes and I enjoy eating meat, He is interested in me and wants ME to KNOW Him more. I can confide in Him my secret thoughts! In fact, I consider Him my best friend. You might find it kind of “schizo” to actually talk to someone you can’t physically see but it all starts with simply BELIEVING that He hears you and you’ll be surprised how He will answer. He is that undeniable still small voice you will hear in your heart.

He wants me to be happy.

Unfortunately, we tend to look for happiness and love in the wrong places and wrong things. I have many wants and needs myself. All of us have endless prayer requests we want God to answer. I see two reasons why He does not readily give us what we ask for- either it is not good for us (acquiring it will only lead to harm) or we are NOT YET READY to handle it. I believe that once we ask for something, He prepares our hearts and minds to handle the blessing so we can enjoy it even more! All fathers want to see their children happy and satisfied. God is certainly no different. But ultimately, He wants us to realize that true happiness can only be found in seeking and loving Him and not in gaining all our wants. Years ago, I prayed for me and my ex-boyfriend (who already had another girlfriend that time) to get back together. It was all that I wanted more than anything else. But God said I will find true love in the right time. While waiting, I drew closer to Jesus by praying, and reading the Bible. In doing so, I found out that loving Him is where true happiness is found! And that He is all that I need and want. He alone satisfies me! Eventually, He gave me my heart’s desire. I met my current husband, Butch with whom I am head over hills in love with. I’m also a gazillion times happier with him than I ever was with my ex!

Though life may throw all sorts of crap at me, He will always see me through.

As a teen-ager, I faced many problems I couldn’t cope with. As a result, I suffered from depression.

Life will never stop throwing challenges at us. Sometimes problems even become too overwhelming. Because of this many turn to sex, drugs, alcohol, food, smoking and other addicting habits for comfort and escape. In my case my addiction was SLEEPING and writing gloomy short stories and poetry. During those times, nobody understood me- I felt completely ALONE. Sleep was my escape and writing was my outlet. When I dedicated my life to God, I noticed a change in the way I handled problems. I got over my addiction to sleep because I had the strength to face life’s difficulties. As He guided me to resolve it, I felt His presence encouraging and keeping me strong. I also stopped writing depressing stuff because I no longer felt dejected! Now, whatever problems I may face, I am confident that I will surmount it because HE is with me! I will never be alone!

There is so much more I’d like to tell you about Him. My life is an adventure of knowing and loving God. He is always inviting us to draw closer to Him because He is all that we need. Through the years, the Bible was and continues to be my guide in discovering who He is. All the things I shared are based on this life-giving book. Looking back I saw how wrong I was to think that he is indifferent and punishing. I thought he held a thunderbolt but instead I saw nail-scared hands that transforms and loves me unconditionally.

Guest Blogger: Wendy Lopez

Guest Blogger’s Blog: http://wenlopred.blogspot.com/

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Posted March 21st, 2008 under Featured Stories. Tags: God, religion, religion class, truth. RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback.