Andrew Nobauer
When I look back on my life, I was always a bit adrift. I did things as they came up or fell into my lap. Activities, beliefs, relationships, God, and church just sorta happened to me. Even friends just happened to be those that I was around in school or played sports with; they weren't particularly deep or meaningful; they just sort of were there.
As I became an adult, this pattern continued; I did things because they more or less fell into my lap; I went to church and youth group because that is what my friends did. I drank and partied because that was what my friends did. I didn't have much to anchor me, I was just a ship that was going with the tides.
I encountered @ccocampus when I was 18 at university, and my life changed. I remember going up to them and signing up to meet with a missionary because I wanted a free bag of chips. That missionary invited me to participate in a faith study and subsequently the CCO Rise Up conference. At Rise Up, I saw 500 university students in Eucharistic Adoration and Worship, and I was in awe of it. I was blown away by seeing my peers know and love Jesus and encounter Him in a personal way. Even more, I saw that they had a purpose, meaning and depth to their life that I lacked. I wasn't ready to commit, though.
3 weeks later, I was at another evening of adoration, but later that night, going with the path of least resistance I went to a party and started doing everything I had always done. Yet that night, everything changed. Dissatisfaction filled my heart, I was tired of living this way. I couldn't ignore my feelings and finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I remember saying, "Jesus, if you are real, I am going to give living for you a shot."
Since that day, I have continued to live out of that statement. I started to live my life for Jesus and give more and more of my life to Him. Slowly, over the weeks, months and years to follow, my life became more of a reflection of God and His will for my life. Jesus gave my life meaning and purpose. I know who my saviour is, I get to be in a relationship with Him. I wasn't adrift anymore. He died for me; now I get to live for Him, and I couldn't be happier.