I came to my first Greek InterVarsity gathering, having no clue what to expect. I only came because my Big Sister in my sorority encouraged me to go with her right after I became a new member. I’d never been to any kind of “faith club” before but I was used to having religion everyday at a private school. However, all it took was that one meeting, and God opened up my eyes to a whole new approach to faith. Here were all these people, college people, social Greek people, from all different stages of faith coming together to talk about struggles and triumphs, some like me who grew up in the Church and others who had never been a part of a faith before. This one meeting changed everything for me.

Suddenly, I found myself surrounded by role models of faith; people like Taylor, Christa, and Caitlin. People who demonstrated their relationships with God; a relationship that I could also have. Next thing you know, I was applying to be on the planning team for our meetings, offering to start a worship band and lead worship, joined a discipleship group, and was even asked to emcee our Monday night gatherings. It was a whirlwind of growth opportunities that God had placed before me, but He wasn’t done yet. Then I came to Greek Conference, thinking to myself, “these people are a little crazy because they’re so loud about their faith.” Maybe that’s just because I’d always been to afraid to be loud about my faith or lack of it.

Growing up in the church meant growing up with religion, and going to private school meant religion classes and mandatory worship meetings, but no one ever taught me how to have a faith. It was the time in my life I felt most separate from God even though He was all around me. But then last year I learned about faith, MY faith. God reached out to me at Greek Conference, specifically through every verse of every worship song last year. I could hear in those words “take me as you find me…”, “consume me from the inside out…” – they were about me! That is to say, the lyrics were exactly what I was asking God for and He was responding with everlasting unconditional love that I’d always known was there but had a hard time believing in since my parents divorce. But now I knew God as a father that would never leave me and never stop loving me. All of these realizations hit me sitting there at the conference.

After Greek Conference, I really connected to my discipleship group, I began reading the Bible more often, I applied to be on the leadership team for our Greek InterVarsity chapter, and now here I am – the girl who used to whisper about God when in public just last year, is now testifying like one of those crazy people – unafraid to say “yes I have a faith! And let me tell you about it!” This is not to say that it’s easy to have faith. Because it’s definitely not. I struggle and fall all the time but have amazing sisters who are always there and my JMU Greek InterVarsity community supports me as well. More importantly, I have God there to catch me every time I come back to Him. That’s what God has taught me. To trust in Him, in our relationship, in my faith that I now have. So even though it was a little crazy, a little scary, and a little overwhelming, I was open to what God put before me. I listened to it, took a risk in responding to it and it changed my life.

This story was originally shared live at Greek Conference Charlotte 2011.

“For about the past two years, I had put God on the backburner. I was battling depression and was never happy because of personal situations in my life and the passing of my grandparents. To me God was non-existence because if he was he would not be putting me through so much pain and suffering.”

“However, throughout all of my denial the Lord never gave up on me like I had on him. He put people in my life to get my back on track and return to the Lord. He gave me a great friend named Payton Miller and worked through him constantly. Payton was always around for me to talk to and be that hand pushing me back to the Lord. Payton got me involved with our Bible study, took me to Greek Conference, and was just a figure in my life that I couldn’t continue to push away.”

“Now, I am back on track and in a much better place in my life. I have gone back to church, am involved in two bible studies and am always looking for more ways to find the Lord in my life each day. I thank God that he put a person like Payton in my life to bring me back to faith.”