Yes I know, the title is obvious internet click bait but I just couldn’t resist. However, I did do something when I was 17 years old that was extraordinary and perhaps you could call it miraculous. It certainly flew in the face of common sense and current culture at the time. I surrendered my life to the teachings of Jesus and accepted a life of faith in my living Saviour. Now perhaps you’re thinking, what’s the big deal, I know people who call themselves Christians and it doesn’t seem so miraculous to me. So please, indulge me in my backstory and maybe you will conclude a miracle did happen.
I grew up on a small acreage near Saskatoon complete with a couple horses, a milk cow, chickens and a slough to play hockey on. My dad was a dentist and my mom stayed at home with four of us kids. It was an average, normal childhood until I was in grade four and my mom decided to divorce my dad. For my nine year old spirit, it was crushing. The family foundation was destroyed and along with it my confidence and worldview. The years that followed were full of custody and child support battles, absentee parenting and lots of moving. At one point, I lived in 6 different cities in 4 years. So I did what lots of kids did without parents around and with no real place to plant roots. I got into trouble. I hung out with the wrong crowd that influenced me to do things I wasn’t proud of. If my parents weren’t there then surely this wrong crowd would be with me. And yet, they really weren’t. In fact, when I reflect upon it now all they really did was get me into trouble. I am not even sure I would call them friends. And during this time, adrift with self-doubt and no real friendships or relationships with parents, something always gnawed at me. I know this is weird to think about when you’re 16, but I started to wonder why did I exist? What happens when I die? What’s my purpose in life? Does anybody really care about me? I chalk all that up to getting my foundation ripped out when I was 9 years old. I was adrift and had to figure out on my own the answers to those tough life questions we all take for granted and adopt from our parents. That, coupled with the feelings of dissatisfaction of hanging out with the wrong crowd, left me searching and aimless.
That’s when I found what I was looking for. I was 17 years old when a guy I met beside my locker in high-school introduced me to his youth group. I really wasn’t interested in going but I found out there were cute girls there so I decided to check it out. And that’s where I found answers to my questions, and not just intellectual answers. Something began to grow in me. Faith. Then I did the unthinkable, a broken 17 year old punk kid who was always getting into trouble, who grew up agnostic, fell down on his knees and accepted, by faith, that Jesus was and is real. That He wanted to show me a better path. That He had a purpose for my life and that all I needed to do was accept Him as Saviour into my life by faith. That is the miracle. I wasn’t coerced. It wasn’t a crutch. I wasn’t faking it. That decision transformed my life the very day I did it and still does today. And that unbelievable counter-cultural decision I made was the best decision of my life. And that same Jesus is still wanting to have a relationship with you. Maybe it’s been a long time since you’ve ever thought about it. Maybe it’s time to think about it. Maybe it’s time to take a leap of faith. Maybe you will say…You won’t believe what I did today!
Sean Morton, Worship Director