A God who redeems

Submitted by Diana…

Looking back on my high school days, I shudder when I think of some of the decisions I made. While for me it was a time of adjustment and trial, having just emigrated from Mexico, I also remember those days with a strange fondness, for I discovered many things about life. One of these things was that I had a void in my heart and longed for something more. I did not know what that was, but I expected it to fulfill my life. I tried filling this hole with many things, including academic success, popularity, friends, extracurricular achievements and a romantic relationship, but all these failed to fill that void. It was not until I reached college and started learning about the Gospel of Jesus that I understood that the void I had been feeling all along in my high school days was the void for unconditional love that only God could fill. I resolved to put my trust in Jesus and allowed him to sit on throne of my life. When the opportunity to be a mentor through InterHigh came up, I signed up with the hope of being able to relate to the youth because of the struggles I faced when I was in high school. It was during those days that I wandered farther away from God, and through InterHigh I wanted to reach out to those who could be going through the same situation.

At first I thought that I would not be a good candidate because I had messed up so much during high school. I thought that given my bad record I would not be a good example for the youth. This came to show how I still held onto this very self-centered attitude toward serving God. I realized that if I only wanted to do the things that I felt qualified for, then I was telling God that what He did for me on the cross was not enough. I was telling Him that He could only use a certain portion of my life I felt confident about, and hold back the parts that I felt more ashamed of. But as Pastor Will talked about the vision of InterHigh, about the Christian youth that abandon their faith when they go to college due to the lack of strong foundations, like-minded peers, and mentors, I was ashamed of my self-centeredness and God put in my heart the urgency for the youth. Thinking of the ways that I had broken God’s heart in my youth days, I wanted to volunteer as a mentor to help the youth by being a good influence living out my faith in college.

Now I am a mentor for a group of 6th graders. Even though my mentee has not attended InterHigh monthly regularly, we keep in touch by emailing one another. And although it is a challenge sometimes to get sixth graders to talk or share, I am really happy to be a part of their life through this ministry. I’m in awe of how God has been using us as a church to be part of a movement that seeks to empower the youth with knowledge of their faith. As I look back at the Rise event last fall, and the four InterHigh Monthly events we have had, I am amazed and so thankful to God for giving me the opportunity to be part of this wonderful ministry. I thank Him for being a God who doesn’t frown and look away because of my past, but instead shows me mercy, loves me, and redeems me. Praise God as he has brought so many youth from the Bay Area to InterHigh where we can share the love of Christ and together take a stand for Jesus.