Growing up in a family of five, we always went to church. Every Sunday my mother would dress my two brothers and I up and we would go to service as a family. This wasn't something we did on occasion; rather it was standard or a routine we followed. Ever since I can remember we attended an independent Baptist church. In Sunday school I was taught a verse in the Bible found in the book of John, chapter three, verse sixteen. It reads, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life" (NIV). This basically sums up my religious belief as a child that I still believe in as much or more today. .
I was saved, or accepted Jesus Christ as my savior, and baptized when I was 5 or 6. My mom always told me that after I was saved there should be a difference in how I acted and the way I handled situations in life. She said that I changed so much, and I knew that I did feel differently. I just felt like there was nothing I couldn't accomplish. Even though I was very young, I had a new way of looking at life. Sometimes when I was in a bind I would say a little prayer and it seemed to calm me down. Also, it seemed these prayers would always be answered. These little experiences reaffirmed and helped my belief in God grow. Contrary to what many believe about Baptist church, the basic principle of the Baptist church I attended was simply to be a loving home for believers and a welcoming place for those who are searching. They were not as strict as some of their counterparts in the Baptist community, they just wanted to share God's love unconditionally. I did not know exactly what being a "believer" meant for I was too little to understand. When I turned about ten or eleven my family stopped going to church on a regular basis. This I found very strange but I noticed that this tendency began shortly after my father stopped attending.
