Teen Finds Her Faith & Her Church Important

excerpts from a paper by Kate Nolen

However important music is in my life, there is still another element of my life that holds much more importance and depth to me than music. This element is my personal relationship with God. Over the past four years my faith has erupted and grown in so many wonderful ways. Because of the influence of many peer and adult mentors, I can stand here today and testify to my faith wholeheartedly without reservation or compromise. …. I was invited to a youth outreach at St. Peter Church by a friend. … He went out of his way to welcome me into his church community. … Despite the fact that I knew almost no one at this outreach, I still felt very welcome and wanted. These people showed me what God’s love meant through their actions and attitude toward life. … All I wanted to do was learn more about this God that seemed so amazing.

The past four years have given me so many opportunities to share the most important aspect of my life with my peers. There have been hard times and good times, but every faith-related risk I have taken and event I have endured has only made me stronger in my beliefs. I can only hope and pray that my words and my example have instilled a positive image of what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus.

Another influence on my religious beliefs came from my grandmother. In my opinion, she was a modern day saint and always strived to direct all of her grandchildren to God’s love. She first introduced me to a poem (entitled My Church by W.H. Boddy) …. I have come to love … just as she did. This poem truly reflects the attitude to which I hold my church. A few significant excerpts include:

Before I was born my church gave my parents ideals of life and love that made my home
        a place of strength and beauty.

In helpless infancy, my church joined my parents in consecrating me to Christ and in
        baptizing me in His name.

My church enriched my childhood with Romance and Religion and the lessons of life,
        that have been woven into the texture of my soul. Sometimes I seem to have forgotten and
        then, when also I might surrender to foolish and futile ideals of life, the truths my church taught
        become radiant, insistent, and inescapable.

In the stress and storm of adolescence, my church heard the surge of my soul and She
        guided my footsteps by lifting my eyes toward the stars.

When my heart was seamed with sorrow, and I thought the sun could never shine again,
        my church drew me to the Friend of all the Weary and
        whispered to me the hope of another morning, eternal and tearless.

When my steps have slipped and I have known the bitterness of sin, my church has believed in me
        and wooingly She has called me back to live within the heights of myself.

My church calls me to Her heart. I will help Her to do for others what She has done for me.
        In this place in which I live, I will help Her keep aflame and aloft the torch of a living faith.

This poem reminds me that whatever course my life may take, I can always find strength and comfort in the ideals of the church which I have come to know and love. Although the road ahead may be long and winding, with eyes of faith, and the joy of music in my life, I have confidence that I will succeed wherever life take me.