For the first couple years of my life my family grew up in Diamond bar, CA. In a fairly large 5 bedrooms 2 story home. Family would come and stay from time to time. My immediate family is my mother, father, my older sister, and my twin brother who is fraternal. Till about the age of 6 my family was very family oriented. We had a good size family that would come together on holidays and birthdays. Our family came to live with us season round or would stay for some time if they needed a place to stay. The church we attended was Calvary Chapel Diamond bar under the head Pastor Raul Ries. My brother and I; attended Calvary Chapel Diamond bar from the elementary grade class up into the sanctuary.
As I got older, I began to recognize the issues that had arisen in my family. From – bills, to parenting, along with family passing away, and watching my family separate and isolate from each other. After the age 6, we no longer owned our large home in Diamond Bar, CA. We had eventually sold it and moved. From that point, we were always moving from place to place. From living with family to moving to a plentiful number of different places. My mom and dad at this point had a difficulty in their relationship and had eventually separated. My sister, brother, and myself remained with my mother. One of the reasons why my mother and father disputed; was because my father had let go of our home at that time to invest into his company. My father’s biggest struggle was trying to support his family with his desire to structure a company. The result of this was that my father was around less. My father had struggled for many years and now till this day he still manages to run his own company.
Circumstances, that my family was forced to overcome was the loss of loved ones. Losing loved ones was devastating to my family because it put us through trials. Trials in my lifetime has reshaped the entirety of my family. The distance throughout out my family occurred more as loved ones started to pass. My family grieved in different forms and handled the repercussions of the events differently. We’ve all had to learn to cope with the circumstance. For my parents, it has taken a fair share of hardship on them as well. My last grandparent left was my grandmother Josephine, who I adored very much. She was my admiration and I loved her dearly. She was my greatest supporter, and always stayed in touch with me as if I was her own child. Losing my grandma was a hard loss that my family had to endure. We lost her a year ago and it still feels as if it was yesterday.
Throughout my youth for school my mother had my brother and I enrolled in public school. Middle school is when a real maturing began for myself. As I grew and learned more, the more interested that I grew into friends and hobbies. Basketball was my personal favorite! I played in leagues for many years and went as far as winning the championship with a couple of my teams. The friends that were around me at the time had a very outgoing lifestyle and loved to go out to social events. At that time, I had strayed from the word for the reason that a more outgoing lifestyle had grown on me. This lasted up until my senior year of high school. The second semester of my senior year I was researching an assignment for school and somehow came across the book of Psalms. While I was surfing through the internet. The literature intrigued me at that time because of the writing style. From the scriptures, I observed someone who had a whole-hearted desire for God, in some senses a deep longing. That was something I felt was missing for myself. From that point on there was a commitment that was made to myself; that I would devote myself to studying the Bible. At this time, my older sister introduced me to the understanding of Apologetics. The subject of Apologetics was very intriguing for myself and fascinating. It had helped me build a confidence at that time that gave me desire to evangelize.
At some point in school there was a self-motivated desire to evangelize. A desire to mention the gospel to those around me. Friends and acquaintances grew interested in my understanding and joined in to build a community for Christian High School students. Not long after some teacher’s and administration opened up both classrooms and their homes, to allow us to have devotions and prayer meetings. The group grew to be a fair size and at that time were committed and interactive. High School eventually finished and the students and myself took different directions in our lives. After High School my ambition for evangelism began to fade. Not to long upon graduation did my flesh fall back into the world. I resulted in me losing my direction with the Lord. A longtime girlfriend at the time had eventually got pregnant and birthed my 6yrs. old son Elijah! My son became my primary priority and is the apple of my eye. Although, I struggled with temptation I devoted myself to prioritizing myself. Trying to come from a background of hardship to attempting to develop a life and structure myself to be a good father.
Sacrificing to be father is not a simplistic task. As the years passed and in my predicament, there has been many struggles in my ability to be a father. Being the best father that I could possibly was certainly my intent but not my execution. Presently, a young father I’ve struggled on numerous occasions to help develop and structure a positive, and healthy lifestyle for my son. Steadily working was how I had spent the majority of my time. Until I had enrolled into a trade school and attended school for my welding certification. Going in the direction of a welder was what I had planned for myself. Fortunately for myself I had accomplished getting my welding certification. Shortly after welding opportunities had presented themselves. As the doors opened for my occupation I ran into an old buddy of mine from High School at the gym. He had mentioned to me that he was finishing up completing his Master Degree. He mentioned that it was through my evangelism, that he committed himself to God. He invited me back to church and invested in helping me restructure my life for God. My High School friend is currently a Youth Minister at Harvest Community Bible Church. He graduated from his Master’s Degree Program and has assisted me in devoting myself to God. I’ve developed better habits, and have returned to habitually attending church. He also has helped enroll me into Bible College! In which I am a third trimester student and have enjoyed my experience with both the lessons and the Lord. I’ve shared the experience with my son who has seen the growth, and development in my life. He has built a bond in loving Jesus too!
Growing up in a Christian loving community has always been an enormous aspect of my lifestyle. Losing my direction was a stumbling moment in my life. My loss of direction was due to my inability to completely comprehend life. As I’ve returned to serving God, and dived into seeking to understand the depth of understanding him I’ve found purpose. Without God, the most difficult question that is significant for myself is “meaning”? Meaning for me not only means purpose but why? The reason I ask why is because no matter how much I learn, I can always find more questions. As I’ve sought and searched for understanding I have found Christ. Christ holds the ultimate meaning. It is meaningful to know that Christ sacrificed his life for mine. To define Christ is to explain Love. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 NKJV) Christ sacrificed himself for the salvation of mankind. Requesting Christ to enter into your life allows for God to interact in your life. Renewal of the mind occurs and allows for a healthier mindset. Without purpose our desires are pointless. With God, we have purpose. God loves all of his children. With Christ we have Love, Purpose, and Eternal life! Every day I am thankful for the opportunity God has presented to me, and I pray that he presents those opportunities for millions of other individuals!
