Before I became a Christian, I used to be someone that just wanted to fit in and be liked by my peers. Throughout my life, I was always smaller than most, which intimidated me to the point I wouldn’t speak up for myself. Instead, I would just shut down and conform to what others were doing because I felt alone until God later filled my heart with confidence.

When high school was over, I was given the opportunity to continue playing baseball at Ferrum College. This is where I started to spiral downhill until I was found by my savior, Jesus Christ. When I arrived on campus I had just turned 18 years old, and I was blessed to be the only freshman to make the varsity baseball team. The only problem was that the majority of the guys on the team were upperclassmen who liked to party. This is where I began to stumble because I surround myself with the wrong kind of influences. I was trying to steer, but couldn’t stay on the right path because I hadn’t yet found my guide in life in Jesus Christ. However, I distinctly remember the day I first learned about the Gospel because of the everlasting effect it has had on my life.

I was 25 years old and it was Christmas Day 2010. I was visiting my grandparents in St. Albans, West Virginia and It was dinner time when we realized my cousin Jonathan wasn’t coming because he made some bad choices the night before and was arrested for a DUI. I began to think about how this could have been me and I realized I was making some of the same bad choices that my cousin was. After dinner, everyone went to take a nap and I was left alone with my grandfather who is a pastor. We began to talk and we talked for a long time that night about God’s ability to forgive us. At the time, none of this made sense to me so I kept asking questions. We talked all night and when I left West Virginia the following day I wasn’t a Christian yet, but God was already at work in my life.

I had many questions. I always knew in my heart there had to be a God that created us and had a purpose for us in life, but I never knew what that purpose was. So I got home and I bought my first Bible. I started off in Genesis and I jumped around reading different chapters; I was learning about the Gospel and learning about Jesus. I learned He is the eternal Son of God. I learned He was sent here as a gift of love from our Father to bring salvation for God’s children, allowing us to repent of all our sins that had to be paid by death. This ultimately led to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. He was a man that loved us so much that He decided to lift and carry all the burdens and sins that we committed so that we can be saved.

It was around this time in my life I had a sense of overwhelming joy come over me for the first time. I realized I wasn’t alone anymore. It was such an amazing feeling! It was during this time in my life I knew I needed to restart and choose new friends. So I found the best friend available: Jesus Christ himself. It does not matter who you are or where you are, no matter how young or how old, He does not discriminate because he loves us all. I know He will always love me unconditionally and He is always by my side. Even when I stumble and make bad choices I know that I can look to God as a bright light of inspiration to keep me going. He is someone who sets an example for us to live by. I know I will never be alone in this world again.

Curtis Taylor