Hey all, thought I would share my testimony.

Growing up, my family was never really too religious. My mother's family was Catholic, and my father's Protestant, but my sisters and I never went to church growing up.

I grew up believing in God, believing that there was a higher power, but I never really understood what that even meant. I got into the mindset that my religion was an 'I believe what I believe' type of thing. It wasn't really consistent with any particular doctrine, because it wasn't really something I spent a lot of time thinking about. It just wasn't on my list of priorities to find a specific set of religious beliefs. I would pray occasionally, but I guess I didn't really even know who or what I was praying to.

Looking back, I think the first time God really tried to get my attention was in 9th grade. I'll never forget the evening of Sunday, January 8, 2006. I got a phone call that night from a close friend, telling me some horrible news: a good friend of ours from middle school, we'll call him Travis (because that was his name :-p) had been killed the previous afternoon in a car accident at the age of 13. I was devastated by this news, and I shut down, physically and mentally, for several days. I didn't know how to deal with the grief, and I didn't know what to do with myself. At Travis's viewing, I cried harder than I had ever cried before, and I couldn't believe what had happened.

At Travis's funeral, the pastor had a great message about celebrating the wonderful life he lived, rather than dwelling on the horrible and tragic way that he died. The pastor's message was all about God getting our attention, to remind us that life is short and death is certain. To be honest, at that time, I didn't really care. I think in many ways, I was angry at God. I didn't understand why He would take away my friend in such a horrible way. Little did I know, He was merely setting up a huge change in my life.

For the next few years, I spent my time in school, studying hard in a course of study full of science classes, where I was taught that God could not be proven through science and, through my own logic, I came to the conclusion that He must not exist. For the next few years, I considered myself an atheist.

That all changed in January of 2009. It was senior year in high school. It was our first day back from Christmas break, and I will never forget walking into math class and seeing my friend Jake, with a solemn look on his face. When I asked him why, he told me that another good friend, Justin, had been involved in a serious accident over the break, and that he was in a coma. 'They don't think he's gonna make it,' Jake told me. 'On the off chance he does live, he'll have permanent brain damage and he'll never be the same.'

I was shocked. Absolutely shocked. I couldn't do this again. I couldn't go through this kind of grief a second time in my life. I was even closer to Justin than I was to Travis, and I could not bury another friend. I started a group that night on Facebook, a support group for Justin and his family. Inviting everyone I knew, I used the group as a positive force for Justin, giving all of the group members updates on his condition as received by frequent phone calls to his family. Before I went to bed that night, I prayed, for the first time in a while. I prayed to a God that I still didn't even believe in, but he delivered in a big way.

Over time, Justin slowly started to improve. It was only a few days before the doctors determined that his injuries were no longer life-threatening. Faster than anyone could have anticipated, Justin slowly emerged from his coma. About one month after the crash, he was fully awake and coherent, but the extent of the damage was still highly unclear, as his memory and cognition showed serious problems. He was soon transferred from the hospital to a rehabilitation center, where he did nothing but improve. I prayed continually, encouraging everyone in the Facebook group (which now numbered over 300) to do the same. I was at work one day, and I received a Voicemail message that brought me to my knees. I checked the message and heard, in a weak and distant (though happy-sounding) voice: 'Hey, it's Justin. I was just calling from my mom's phone to say hi. But you can't answer right now. So I'll talk to you later. Bye.' That voice was music to my ears. Though I knew he was improving, it became so much more real to me in that moment.

I went to see Justin in the hospital a few days later, and seeing him in person was amazing. His mom warned me ahead of time not to expect much, saying that he might not even remember me, but when I walked in the room, Justin looked up, said my first and last name with a bright and happy look on his face. Already choked up, I talked to him for a few hours. He still wasn't himself, forgetting simple things and repeating himself frequently, but I knew he was on the right track. After leaving the room, I broke down in tears. Happy tears. I knew that something big was coming, and I knew that I was going to have to rethink my beliefs.

Justin came home soon after, a mere 59 days after the accident. I was invited to come to his church, and I decided I would. They showed a video in church that Sunday morning about Justin and his road to recovery. It was a powerful video, but after it was over, that's when the emotion hit me. I knew something amazing was happening around me in that moment. I will never be able to properly explain the feeling that I had, because English provides no word for it. It was an overwhelming feeling of joy, and a feeling of love directed at me as well as everyone else in the room. I knew I wasn't the only one who had felt it, as there was not one dry eye in that church. I went home that day, a feeling of extreme joy and contentment overtaking my entire mind, body and spirit. It was a profound experience.

I knew that I had to rethink some things, especially after the experience in church. I called the pastor at the urging of Justin's mom. He agreed to meet with me later that week. He sat down with me and explained all about God and about the importance of Christ, and how we believe God used Justin to get my attention. I went home that night, prayed forgiveness for my sins, and asked Christ to come into my heart as my Personal Savior. I felt that powerful love once again, and I knew that I had made the right decision. That was on March 5, 2009.

I am happy to say that I have been a devout, born-again Christian ever since that time. An enormous burden lifted off my shoulders, I feel so happy to be a new child of God. I will never forget the joy of my salvation. I am also happy to say that Justin made a full recovery (absolutely no residual effects from the crash) and graduated on time with his class in June of 2009. God is so Good!

If you've managed to make it this far, thank you for reading my story! I know it's long, but I'm glad you took the time to read it if you did. I hope it is a blessing to you!!

Serving Him,
Jim