Baptism | Melanie Buresh

Baptism | Melanie Buresh

April 30, 2023 |


What was life like before you met Jesus?

Before I understood the presence of God, I was following bad habits of others kids around me, I was VERY prideful, I thought lying was okay, swearing was subjected to something my mom told me not to do, I felt lonely all the time, and life had no purpose besides living it out until the end.

How did you meet Jesus?

I had a little understanding of Jesus since my family only took me to church until I hit about 2nd grade. After that, I barely knew who he was. The word of God just felt like another fairytale. However, one day I had a mental breakdown where I just found myself sitting on a toilet, begging God to make my life better, praying for help and asking if he could give me good friends and lead me to a life with God. I didn’t know what I was really doing at the time but it felt right. I was basically confessing my sins and asking for help, using a little bit of my knowledge of God, knowing that maybe he could turn my life back around. Then fifth grade started and I ended up making best friends with Sarina, Brayden, and Micheal. They were all Christians and taught me what it looks like to be Christian. Micheal and his family always invited me to church and would drive me to Sunday and Wednesday church all the time. They also were the ones who bought me my first Bible that I still read out of almost everyday and I’m very grateful for that. It really hit me when reading the book John by myself about everything that Jesus has done for me and how much love he shows to others. My friends are very proud of their faith and I don’t think I would’ve been in the amazing relationship I am with God without them. There was a very low chance I would’ve met these one of a kind people but I did and it felt like God had answered my prayers. I want to be baptized because I’ve accepted Jesus in my heart and God is like my best friend and I want to symbolize my love for God by getting baptized. I never knew I could get baptized since I was baptized in a catholic church as a baby so I’m really excited to get baptized.

After being saved by Jesus, what is your life like now?

Jesus has given me amazing Christian friends who have been by my side till this day, they make me feel safe compared to some of my non-Christian friends. We support each other with reading the Bible and hold each other accountable for our actions. I feel blessed to have a goofy group of friends that care about each other and hold Jesus as their first priority. Since Michael’s parents always brought me to church, it has inspired me to invite others to church too! I’ve realized that my life is much better when I try to live like Jesus. I feel so much happier once I learned what true love is, knowing that Jesus is always by my side loving me every second. I love John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” I love this verse because it shows how much Jesus loves me, his love and forgiveness allows me to spend eternal life with him and that’s all I need to know to want to live out a life like Jesus where I love and forgive others, knowing that’s what Jesus did for me.