
Making the transition between simply accepting what I had learnt about my Catholic faith growing up, to really entering into a personal relationship with God has been a journey that very much reflects Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened to you.”
Throughout my life I had heard that God loved me, but I came to the realisation that I didn’t really know it, the revelation had not made its way to my heart, but I knew I wanted to understand it. So I began to seek God; to ask Him to really let it sink in. I didn’t give God a time frame, just in the ‘quiet place’, in my times of prayer, I would ask Him to show me His love; and overtime He did and in many different ways. Sometimes during prayer and sometimes through opening my eyes to the constant blessing and opportunity He gives us, His children, and sometimes through the love I received from the people around me. I looked back one day and had total conviction in my heart that God really did love me, He was my heavenly Father. However, even though I knew God loved me, I still thought that I had to get everything right all the time and when I didn’t I thought I had to ‘fix everything on my own before I went back to God’. Yet God showed me that through Jesus, we are loved by a God that says, “It is in your worst moment, when you feel most far away, that’s when I jump in and say, ‘I’m still in love with you, I would still die for you’”. I discovered that God is so faithful and He wants us to understand His love even more than we want to understand it, He really does answer us when we seek Him.
When I truly encountered the love of God my life was changed. I was able to love the people around me properly and praying and going to mass was not out of any sense of duty, but all out of love. Faith became the most central area of my life and thus had an impact on all the other areas in my life. I wanted to seek God to discover what His will for my life was, the plans He had for me. I now wake up every morning and try and offer my life as a surrender to God, I try and make my prayer ‘Your Kingdom come, Your will be done’.
I’m currently with the Sion Catholic Community for Evangelism and I’m living in such peace and joy because I know I am where God has called me to be. Every day I am learning more how to trust in Him, to surrender all to Him. I am finding the journey of faith to be a lifelong continual conversion being drawn more and more into the heart of God.
Bryony Wells- 18 Years Old
Throughout my life I had heard that God loved me, but I came to the realisation that I didn’t really know it, the revelation had not made its way to my heart, but I knew I wanted to understand it. So I began to seek God; to ask Him to really let it sink in. I didn’t give God a time frame, just in the ‘quiet place’, in my times of prayer, I would ask Him to show me His love; and overtime He did and in many different ways. Sometimes during prayer and sometimes through opening my eyes to the constant blessing and opportunity He gives us, His children, and sometimes through the love I received from the people around me. I looked back one day and had total conviction in my heart that God really did love me, He was my heavenly Father. However, even though I knew God loved me, I still thought that I had to get everything right all the time and when I didn’t I thought I had to ‘fix everything on my own before I went back to God’. Yet God showed me that through Jesus, we are loved by a God that says, “It is in your worst moment, when you feel most far away, that’s when I jump in and say, ‘I’m still in love with you, I would still die for you’”. I discovered that God is so faithful and He wants us to understand His love even more than we want to understand it, He really does answer us when we seek Him.
When I truly encountered the love of God my life was changed. I was able to love the people around me properly and praying and going to mass was not out of any sense of duty, but all out of love. Faith became the most central area of my life and thus had an impact on all the other areas in my life. I wanted to seek God to discover what His will for my life was, the plans He had for me. I now wake up every morning and try and offer my life as a surrender to God, I try and make my prayer ‘Your Kingdom come, Your will be done’.
I’m currently with the Sion Catholic Community for Evangelism and I’m living in such peace and joy because I know I am where God has called me to be. Every day I am learning more how to trust in Him, to surrender all to Him. I am finding the journey of faith to be a lifelong continual conversion being drawn more and more into the heart of God.
Bryony Wells- 18 Years Old