I was born in a Christian home and attended church regularly since I was little. It was natural for me and I never thought to question it. Living such a life, I wondered about “do I really believe in God written about in the Bible?” I felt that I had never really suffered, been troubled deeply, or had an experience of being helped by God. Even when I sang praise songs, I felt that I wasn’t appreciating God from my heart, and envied people who were not from Christian homes who had a real sense of being saved.
Entering high school, I started commuting by bicycle. While riding my bike, I couldn’t even listen to music and I was bored. So, I started praise songs without much thought. But singing in a natural environment, I started feeling the presence of God. I especially liked the sky in early morning, and I thought there must be a being who planned and created such a beautiful thing. I thought, God who made each and every one of those things preciously might be looking at me at this moment. Then, gradually, I began to feel relief when I sought and prayed to God when I tired. At that time, the Scripture passage that came to mind was, Romans 1:20.
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities―his eternal power and divine nature―have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
Until then, at the bottom of my heart, I had thought, how could one believe something that cannot be seen? However, through the beauty of nature, not dependent on whether I believe or not, I understood God existed. And understood love me, and also understood that by deciding to believe in the fact that Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins, real sense of being saved be given. God changed me little by little, and even now, is making me grow gradually.
In conclusion I would like to share a Bible passage that was given to me by my parents as where my name was taken from. Ecclesiastes 3:11.
He was made everything beautiful in its time.