Spencer Li 3/9/07
Testimony (3/12/07)
After moving to North Andover in the first grade, it was like a written procedure for me to attend Church every Sunday. It felt as if it were just another school except to visit on the weekends. However, I felt no real meaning in going. This was all before I had really met Christ at a personal level though. Sunday school: It was just another place and time where I had the opportunity to socialize. In Sunday school, it was a tradition for the class to memorize a bible verse at the end of the class; however, being the rebel that I was, I never had the urge to try it out. I mean how could memorizing a few words out of this book help me with my life? I never read the Bible. After all I had the library for my mother to rent books for me. The Bible just felt as if it were like a huge college text book. Even during Awana I felt no need to earn any Awana dollars. They were not worthy of my time! After all they weren’t real money were they? In my younger childhood God and I were not associated. Why should I have believed in him? The library could provide me with more interesting books than those of the Bible.
Throughout my more ignorant life style, finding an easy way out of everything was how I lived. Lying to people was a frequent mistake I made. I didn’t have to go through the trouble of explaining why I had done something, and foremost going through punishment. I could lie my way out of punishment? Boy did I feel great! Stealing other peoples’ possessions also became a problem. After I lied I could easily get over it and try to forget the entire situation as if it never happened. I could also have, what seemed as to, whatever I wanted as well. Life must have felt great for me! But the scary fact of the matter is that I felt no guilt whatsoever. No need for guilt and hard work to get what I wanted. Life was good.
However, it wasn’t until my first experience at VBS that I started to seriously learn about God. In the summer of fourth grade, I started to accept that he is there. The amazing qualities of God were taught to me. Unfortunately, after my first VBS, the way I attended Church changed. My family and I would go to church every Friday and Sunday for one month, and stop going for about three more. This tore my spiritual relationship with God apart. I started to become empty again and back to the way I was before. During the next few years, I started to mature by society’s standards, but become even more prone to lying. Swearing also became more of a problem as well. I would never study, and only do as much work to get by. However, I did get A’s in school so I must not have been that bad of a kid was I? But during school every other word to come out of my mouth would be a swear. Sixth grade came around and I attended to my friend’s winter retreat. I didn’t want to go really. I was thinking to myself, “What kind of a crazy child would want to spend a three day weekend without a computer?” I didn’t know many people when I got there. Kids were all talking and I felt like I just didn’t fit in. But after the first day, I felt welcomed, and everyone around me seemed very nice and accepting. It was a great experience! And I felt satisfied. The Holy Spirit filled me up, and I was experiencing my first spiritual high. Within the next few days after the retreat, I didn’t swear one bit. But my normal friends saw as if I was an outsider. None of them had gone to the retreat, and they had not changed. I listened to their conversations as they would make fun of other people and swear like I used to. I knew God had changed me and I was happy about it as well.
The next year, I started to attend LYF. At first, I felt extremely nervous because there were so many older kids that I never met before. The first time I went, I don’t think I said a word. It was just like the first day of the winter retreat I went to before. But after the first few times I went and I loved it! God had really changed me after all. Every Friday after school, I would look forward to go to church and worship the Lord through song and reading his word. The Bible was the book for me after all. And on Sundays, I would wake up tired, but still have the urge inside of me to go to church and hear a new lesson this week. Church is a fantastic place. It’s open and welcoming. I also learned a lot from my past experiences in this building. I feel baptism is the next step for me toward Christ. I’ve seen and attended this Church for a long time and in the future, I hope that we can all continue growing in the Lord and praising him.