I was raised up in the church. We went to church every Sunday as well as the special days (Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and others). I practiced my faith, did all the things I was “supposed” to do, including receiving absolution, communion and being confirmed. I grew up hearing the stories of our faith and knew them well including Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, the birth of Jesus, the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection. I pretty much knew most of the stuff I should know as a Christian and I believed in that God “out there”

Well, I had head knowledge of the stuff and a watered down belief in a supreme being way up in his heavens, but really had no heart knowledge of him. Until God caught my attention.

It was my senior year of high school. My aunt had a cerebral hemorrhage and was in a coma. While I had not attended church regularly, I found myself in a church on a Wednesday night praying for her. In the end, my aunt died and we went on with our lives as people do.

But then, while on a choir trip to Washington DC, I was standing in the National Cathedral taking in the great architecture. There was nobody around me; all the students were wandering around when I felt it. I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was a real, physical tap. I looked around, saw no one and realized something. God is real. God is alive. God wanted a relationship with me.

I would like to say that I completely got it from that point. I’d like to say I dropped to my knees and asked God into my life, was changed like Paul on the road to Damascus, or something equally earth shattering. But the truth is this one moment in my life was one of many on a faith journey I continue to take. It still took me years to get more of the heart knowledge, but this moment was pivotal in my faith journey. I knew God was real and loving, and wanted me!

So what is your story? When did you first hear from God? What are you experiencing right now that leads you closer to the Lord?