As a child I learned about Jesus. He was like this hero in the distance that for years I didn’t really understand. I wanted to believe and felt a love for Jesus, but I was so focused on getting good grades, playing soccer and being a kid that it felt like a fairytale. It hadn’t sunk into my heart yet why I needed to believe in Jesus.
I got to a point in my life where I felt stuck and pretty broken. I remember hearing one of my teachers tell a story about a man who also felt stuck and broken, but decided to change and to pray for Jesus to help him to change. I decided to get down on my knees that night and plead for the Savior to help me with my heartache and brokenness. As I continued to do that for a few weeks, I literally felt my heart become new. I felt my heart and my desires and my thoughts change from darkness to light. I felt free.
A couple of years ago I thought I was in love for the first time. Things seemed good and right. The relationship seemed to be everything I wanted and more. Then he broke things off unexpectedly. I felt pain like I’d never experienced. I remember sitting in my car with tears streaming down my face, and praying that Christ could make my heart whole again. I felt a strength and a peace come into my heart as I kept asking God for that help. I just chose to believe that help would come and it did.
It was truly miraculous to me. And real although I can't exactly explain how it works. The pain wasn’t completely gone. But it became bearable knowing that Christ died and experienced the weight of the world so that I could have help and comfort in times like this. I think without my Savior's help, I would have stayed broken and hurt for a long time. Instead I’ve been able to move forward believing with all my heart that God has a plan for me and that He is with me.
I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe He came for me and He came for you. I am living proof that a heart can completely change and heal because of Him. The Christmas story is no fairytale. It really happened. And it happened for a reason - because “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Do you believe in Jesus Christ? If you think you can’t or you think this is something that only works for certain kinds of people and certain kinds of situations, I can promise you that those things aren’t true. Keep trying. Keep praying. Keep studying the scriptures. Talk to people who believe in Christ. Take that first step. Shoot me a message if you want to talk. As we seek to believe when it’s the hardest, that’s when miracles happen.
This hasn’t been a one time experience for me. I’ve had that change of heart come many times. I've learned that I need my Savior every single day - and that is normal and human and wonderful! Because of what Christ did, every ache can heal and be comforted. Every broken, worn heart can become whole and new.
I recorded my own version of "I Believe" because it conveys how belief in Jesus Christ can transform from a fairytale into a firm conviction. As a child, leaving cookies out for Santa and waking up to presents on Christmas morning was always something to get excited about. It really felt like magic as a kid. But as years went by, I felt the meaning of Christmas change into something much more magical - the reality that Christmas can live inside us when we let Christ change our hearts.
You can listen to "I Believe" here. I pray this Christmas season that each of us can believe and let the Christmas story become much more than a fairytale - because it truly is.