My story begins when I was nine years old. I went to church and was a "Christian" but not really. I didn't understand much of anything. The only thing I knew was that Jesus died and Noah had an Ark. I didn't read the Bible. But I was a "Christian" so to speak. As years went by, I never prayed to God. I sometimes wonder now why God didn't speak to me sooner, but I always knew He had the best plan ever.
I was a geek and lonely and wanted a girlfriend like everyone else. When it came to girls, I couldn't get the message if anyone liked me or disliked me. So I just assumed a lot of times no one liked me at all, and this put me in depression. I was depressed a lot. And I came on the verge of suicide multiple times.
By the time I was in ninth grade, I felt like I had hit rock bottom and needed someone. That's when God stepped in, and He used someone to do it. Rebekah stepped in out of nowhere due to my courage to try and go after her in a desperate attempt to get a girlfriend.
She was super nice, and I was attracted to her so much. She asked me if I believed in God and, well, I told her I did but that I didn't believe He wanted me because of all the mistakes I had made in the past. She told me I was dead wrong, and boy was I.
We became friends and bonded and soon I made the first moves at The Winter Snowball dance and asked her to dance. A seed was planted within me. After the dance, I started going to her church youth group. It was just because of her at first, and I thought it was kind of fun.
We shared our first kiss on Valentine's Day and started to date and even published it on Facebook. Well, her parents didn't like it one bit at first. They made her break up with me, and this made me extremely sad. Over the next months, we went through this cycle where we would get to be more than friends, then her parents would tighten the leash a little. Also another guy who liked her would constantly try to leave me out of the picture.
I read the whole Bible (a simplified version) in six months. And I just kept getting closer to the Lord, each day getting one step closer. I came to realize why Rebekah's parents kept us apart for so long. I thought it was because they wanted their daughter to be safe, but actually it was to make our relationship stronger. Every time we broke up then came back together, our relationship got stronger.
In August 2013, my relationship with the Lord really took off running. I got so much closer to Him, and every day since, God has strengthened my relationship with Him through just about everything.
I believe Rebekah saved my life technically three times—twice because of my suicide anxiety and once when she saved my eternal life by introducing me to Jesus once again. Today, we have been going steady and strong now since September and although we may not be perfect, God uses our mistakes for good, just like Joseph's brothers.
I pray every day now. I read the Bible every day. I thank God for Rebekah and our relationship, and I just praise Jesus! I always laugh when I think about how if I didn't meet Rebekah, I wouldn't have met the Lord. If the Lord hadn't used Rebekah in my life, I wouldn't have known her. If He hadn't used Rebekah in my life, I wouldn't have known Him.
I want to just share my story with people and say, even when God looks like He's not doing anything, just keep the faith and believe He's working in the unseen behind the scenes!
—Chris - age 15, 10th grade
