21Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
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So obviously you know that I was born and raised Catholic and was pretty involved in extra circular activates that we're based around religion. So I have always had a religious base but having a religion is one thing but having a love and relationship with Christ is another thing. Which to me personally was never integrated in my up bringing either at home or at school. I could spit out facts, I taught, my students well, were smart and knew everything a "good catholic" should know. But still I was doing things because it's what I "should be doing" not to glorify God. Two times the Holy Spirit and the Lord has talked through complete strangers to share a vision, a message with me. The first time was during the senior retreat during adoration. The retreat leader was praying to himself and I myself and
He got up and walked over to me and told me that the Holy Spirit has given him a vision of me: I was this strong ship, I was supposed to go places but I had no mast, no backbone to go anywhere. He said he just felt like he was supposed to share that with me. Keep in mind this man knew nothing about me. So that was the Lords first push at me.
Now this next part I am ashamed of but I know that the Lord, our God, has forgiven me of my past sin. And as sad, and shameful as the event may be they are part of my story, my coming to know Christ. During my senior year into my first year of college I was living a double life. I had "church Robert" and I had "misleading Robert". In high school I was drinking and throwing parties. I threw the biggest party of our senior year for my 18th brithday. The cops were called and a girl was even taken to the hospital. And I was prideful that I had thrown such a crazy party. Even sadder the theme was the seven deadly sins. Fast forward to my freshmen year of college I was still throwing parties (not big onea just "the best ones"), I was ditching class and being lazy, and I started smoking marijuana. Like I said these were shameful events in my life. All this was going on all while I still went to church and I was still teaching religious education. During the summer I interned for a huge music festival called Heaven Fest. God placing me here was not an accident. The main people who put on the festival, a family, we're very loving, welcoming, God fearing people. Luke, kind of my "mentor" at the time had come from a past similar to mine and his testimony started to speak to me. This is the second time God spoke through somebody else to get to me. I had been at something called: 40 nights of prayer. It was me and a total stranger praying to ourselves. He stops praying and ask me if I believe the the Holy Spirit can speak to us through people, I told him kinda sure and then he asked if he could share his vision that the Holy Spirit had given him about me. He told me that he was seeing my as this big beautiful plant that would grow nice and tall and strong but these bugs would come and eat me away down to the base again and the process would repeat itself. He said that the Lord wants me to burn the plant to the ground and start all over again. And this is the crazy part. The next day my aunt emails me and tells me that the family has talked about it and they want me to move out there. Not to worry about a job, money, nothing...just come out!! THE NEXT DAY!!! God is good!
So I move to Chicago and start attending my aunt and uncles church. My uncle is the music director at the church so we live in one of the churches houses. My cousins sing at church and are pretty involved so the Bobaliks are..."know". I attend church there just because I didnt know where a Catholic church was and frankly didnt want to go by myself. As time passed I started enjoying the service. The people at the church were extremely nice, and something was different here that at any Catholic church that I had been to. There seems to be a job at church. I started attending a bible study for young adult at church and my realization and coming to Christ, like REALLY coming to Christ start all with my playing devils advocate and I liked pushing my cousins fiancee buttons. We were debating on who gets to Heaven. And with my previous understanding that good deeds get us into heaven because thats what God wants us to do I couldnt wrap my mind around the argument. How could a person like Mother Teresa not get into heaven with all the good shes done is on her death bed she said she was a lesbian. But if Hitler confessed his sins and excepted Jesus into his heart then he could get in. (Now keep in mind to really argue this you need to look at other things but that wasnt happening then.) Then Tim the youth pastor explain that our salvation is through our Lord and Savoir Jesus Christ and not through our deeds alone. And that by excepting Christ into our hearts we are truly saved. And for some reason it just clicked! And it was as simple as that.
From there my true love for Christ began to flourish. I started reading my bible. Reading Christian books. Praying more. I loved going to church. I began to serve those at church. I was serving in children's ministry events like Vacation Bible School and a camp for inner city youth. I began to help out at a homeless ministry. Worked for children's ministry. Served around the church and began to learn the inner workings. I wanted to know the Lord more. I tell you these things not to be boastful or to be like wow you do alot of good. I tell you that I found a love for the Lord that I started doing as much as I could to serve and follow where he was leading me. I have a love for Christ that I didnt even know was possible. Its funny how God works in such mysterious ways . How carefully thought out his plans are, that span from the very beginning. I love to serve Him and that is why I am choosing to live and follow the path He put out before me. I hope my past hasnt effected the way you see me, but instead see it as how Christ used even my sinful transgressions to bring me out of the darkness and into his glorious light!
