During the first few years of my life, I had never gone to church despite my mother being a Christian. It was not until I met Roselie and her family that they invited me to go with them every Sunday. I was around 8 at the time, and I only saw this as an opportunity to hang out with my best friend. I did not understand what church was, and I never paid attention to anything that was taught; I only have memories of the cartoons we watched and the games we played.

I certainly did not have a consistent relationship with going to church, as I would often take breaks from it, spanning from a couple of months to even a year or two.

Grade 6 was when I had the sudden motivation to pray every day. This was during COVID-19, so I would attend church through Zoom meetings. Every night, I would make sure to get a prayer in before falling asleep, but I never stopped to think about why I did this or what praying to God meant for me. I only prayed not because I had believed, but just in case there was a higher being out there listening to me.

I never truly considered Christianity. At the beginning of grade 9, a friend asked me if I was religious, and I did not have an answer. For some reason, the thought of this had never occurred to me. I went to church, I prayed, but I had not considered myself to be religious. I came to the realization that I should take Christianity more seriously and see what it had to offer me. During this period, I met Pastor John. Listening to what he had to say and just talking and asking him questions made it feel very easy for me to get a better grasp on being a Christian.

As I approached exams for the first time, I was worried about everything. It was a late night, and I was trying to cram for my French exam, so I decided to just sit down in a dark room and pray to God about everything. I told Him about what was stressing me out, and instantly after that prayer, it felt like all my worries just melted away. I had never felt so peaceful in my life, and this was happening during what should be one of the most stressful moments for me. This is a feeling I can never forget.

After knowing God, I can now always find a reason to smile. No matter the situation, knowing that He is by my side truly makes everything feel alright. I have become the best version of myself through Him, and I will continue to live the rest of my days to praise and worship Him, because through God, I have found true peace, purpose, and a Father who will always love me.