In college I spent a few summers working at a Bible camp as a counselor. Each week on Wednesday we had what was called testimony night. I would begin by sharing the story of how I made the decision to follow Christ and i would then give the girls the opportunity to share their story. At the beginning of my first summer I dreaded Wednesday nights because I felt that my testimony was not interesting or inspiring. However, one week about halfway through that first summer, I had a revelation. I discovered that while the story of how we came to know Christ is important, maybe we put too much focus on that one event.

The story of Saul on the road to Damascus is a great story, but it is only one of many. As we flip through the book of Acts we see mention of Saul over and over again as he follows Christ to many places, and endures many trials. Halfway through that first summer of camp I learned to think about my journey with Christ in a new way: Our testimony doesn’t end when we make a decision to follow Christ, it is at that point that the journey is just beginning. Wednesday evening testimony sharing suddenly became much more exciting as I realized that I could tell the girls in my cabin about the exciting twists and turns of what it looks like to follow Christ in our world today. I told them of how God provided special friends to help me through the difficulty of dealing with divorce, how he gave me the courage to stand alone when my friends chose a different path, of all the times he welcomed me back with open arms after I had turned my back on him, and even how he led me to take a leap of faith and spend a summer as a counselor at a Bible camp I had never heard of before.

If I were to write the story of my journey with Christ, the story of how I came to know Christ would only fill the first chapter. The story of how I have grown in my faith and how God has faithfully led me and provided for me would fill the rest. This fall as we learn about Paul’s journey I encourage you to reflect on the twists and turns of your journey with Christ. Maybe your journey has just begun or maybe it has already lasted 50 years, but no matter where you might be, remember that it is not over. God always has something to teach us and he always has more adventures in store for us if we are willing to follow.