So I'm going to tell my story....
It all started when I was about 8 years old. I had always gone to church as a kid because that's where my parents took me, and as a grade schooler I really didn't have much say in the matter. I would say that I was a pretty good kid. I never got into too much trouble, except on those few occasions when I would do something like carve designs into the window sill and write my sister's name in it so that she would get in trouble for it instead of me...I still feel kind of bad about that one (even though I'm pretty sure I didn't get away with it). Anyway...Chasing bunnies....For the most part I was a rule follower, but that wasn't enough. I came to the realization that I could never do enough good things nor could I keep myself from doing bad things. Even as a young kid this bothered me because I knew that God was perfect and that He created a perfect Heaven. How could I go to God's perfect Heaven when I died if I couldn't even go one day without lying to my parents about whether or not I had brushed my teeth? And if I couldn't go to heaven that left only one other option...Hell. This is when I started asking questions. One day, after church, my mom sat down with me on her bed and explained to me how every person ever created is imperfect. She told me how we couldn't help but do bad things because we were born with this problem. She called it sin....just like I had always heard the preacher describe it. She showed me in the Bible that because of this sin God couldn't let me into heaven. Well, you know that just made me pretty sad, but just as I was thinking this to myself, she started showing me other things from the Bible that gave me hope. She told me how because God loved me soooo much he couldn't stand thinking about me not being with him in Heaven so he provided a way for me and all the other people that ever lived to go there. That way was through His son Jesus. God sent His son to Earth to die on a cross for my sins. You see I deserved death and eternal life in Hell, but God sent Jesus to pay that death penalty for me. You know, I still can't believe today that someone could love me so much to send his son to die for me, and that Jesus would willingly take that penalty for me. My mom explained to me that because of this price that was paid, I could have eternal life in Heaven and be saved from Hell. All I had to do was admit my sin problem, believe that Jesus died on the cross for me, and put my faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. That Sunday afternoon, after church, I made this decision with the help of my mom, and I have never been the same since. I still make mistakes on a daily basis, and not just little ones, but really big stupid ones. The difference is that now I know that inspite of all those mistakes, when God looks at me, He doesn't see that. My slate has been wiped clean, and I rejoice in that wonderful gift he has given me of Salvation! Praise God!
Whoo! I'm long winded!