The Post-College Jesus Lover

So let me start this with an introduction, and a little bit about my story. As the blog unfolds, more of my story will be revealed and you can see the AMAZING things that God has done in my life. I am writing this for a few reasons--the first is for you all. I want to be a witness to some others, and to show you examples of what a transformation looks like. The second reason is for me to see what kind of transformation I am going through. A lot of the time I don't think that I even realize the changes that God is making in me. I fail to realize how much I have grown in my Christian faith--and I am hoping this reflective blog will aid in that. The final reason is to gain support. I'm not always entirely open or honest with those around me, and if I even get a tiny bit of support from someone who reads this, I will be happy.

So me.

My name is Mandy, and I am a 23-year-old college graduate. I just finished graduate school in Boston, and I have been on a roller coaster of life since arriving on the East coast. I grew up in a strictly Lutheran family, and considered myself very Christian (although looking back, I certainly wasn't acting like it). Once I came to college, I got all mixed up in the Boston Church of Christ, which is, arguably, a Christian cult. It took me awhile to recover from that, and I spent the next 3 or so years sortof attending church and battling with my disbelief and lifestyle.

Enter this year.

I started attending City on a Hill church, a new church plant in Brookline, Massachusetts. I attend the evening Allston service. For the first time since college, I really started to grow in my relationship with God. I started acting out the truths that I have always known. I developed relationships with other Christians, and have started to, slowly, turn my life over, bit by bit, to God's complete control. I'm still learning, but I have come leaps and bounds and God has my life in his hands. About 4 weeks ago, I was baptized as an adult. And finally, I tell the world and everyone else that I am not in control of my life. Jesus is.

So as I start some clinical rotations to complete my degree, I am at this turning point. I have to decide what God really wants for me. Does he want me to continue to pursue more education? Or help plant churches, like I lately have been moved to do? Are these people He placed in my life supposed to be teaching me something different? What about a husband? A family? A place to settle? Am I supposed to go be a missionary? Serve those around me?

There are so many questions to ask, and I am just beginning to discover His perfect and wonderful plan. I will try to better reveal some concrete stories in the future, but for now, just pray. Pray that God continues to work in and through me, and that He uses me to inspire others to experience that transformation I am undergoing.

Blessings :)