What was life like before you met Jesus?
Before I met Jesus, life was absolutely rough - I will not sugarcoat it. I was lacking in all spheres and had the mentality that I somehow needed to one-up everyone. I was interested in building my life here on Earth. Ultimately, I was not following God’s plan for my life, I was following my own. I grew up in a Christian household my entire life and went to church, however, it is clear to me now that you can know who Jesus is, without truly being in love with Him. To fill the void I think I did what most people do. I tried to find comfort and joy in worldly things which granted instant gratification but obviously could not be long-term solutions.
How did you meet Jesus?
I truly met Jesus by the world absolutely flipping my life upside down. I think in times of trouble most people resort to a higher power of some sort, and then once things get better they don't stick with it. I was an absolute anxious and depressed mess; I had to always be in control and I could not enjoy the current day without worrying about the next. There was a distinct moment when I was driving my car and I look up and the clouds formed a cross and the sun was shining so brightly through it. I remember pulling over in awe and I just let all of my emotions out. At that moment it was like God was saying, "relax Kaitlin, I am in control." From then I started putting Him at the center of my life, nothing is above Him. I began constantly talking to Him throughout the day (on bad days it's every 15 minutes), praising through worship music, and reading His word daily. Matthew 6:34 says "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
After being saved by Jesus, what is your life like now?
Life after being saved by Jesus is INCREDIBLE. I cannot emphasize it enough. You genuinely are seeing life for the first time, everything is different. How I think is different, my goals are different, and my mental illnesses are gone. After being saved God showed me His plan for my life. Prior, I was concerned with one thing, money. I was following my own path in life to chase after a job simply because it was high paying, not even considering why God put me on this Earth. After meeting Jesus, what I am supposed to do in life became crystal clear as if He was right in front of me directly telling me. I did a complete 180 and now I am following His plan to become a school teacher to help educate, love, and motivate kiddos. After being saved all I want to do is help others and spread all of the love that I can. I will preach until I die that one's earthly kingdom has NOTHING on what awaits in God's Kingdom. Psalm 32:8 says “Then the Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.’”