Growing In Christ
About a year ago, I was attending college and coaching youth football. I was doing well in school with good grades and was successful with the team I was coaching. Life was seemingly normal, but I was an isolated Christian who was in a rut spiritually and becoming more fatalist with a doom-and-gloom outlook that was misaligned with my faith.
I was focusing so much on the events of the world and what was happening around me that I forgot to fix my eyes on Christ. Instead, I worried about the geopolitical landscape, the deterioration of the world I was living in, and a fear of potential events to come. This consumed much of my daily thought, and I knew it was robbing me of my joy in Christ.
About this time, I prayed for a Christian friend to enter my life. God answered quickly!
While eating at Chipotle one night with my mother, I recognized a familiar face I had seen from college. It was Colby Hannula! We had spoken briefly in college but had never discussed our faith. He came over to say hi and we were excited to reconnect.
As he walked away from our table to resume eating with Claire, I remember wondering if he was a Christian, as the interaction was noticeably different from the ones I’d had with other students. The light of Christ was shining through him. I was getting ready to leave when Colby approached me again and asked if I was interested in attending a young adult Bible study he led. This shocked me considering that I not only had prayed for a Christian brother to enter my life, but I had just been wondering if he was a fellow believer.
This was no accident, but a massive blessing unfolding! My attendance at the young adult group with other believers was the beginning of many changes that would take place. The Lord continued to work in and sanctify me. This eventually led me to Westside Bible Church where I found fellowship with amazing believers who had been walking with the Lord for a long time.
At Westside there is phenomenal expository Bible teaching and the opportunity to serve the body of Christ and exercise my faith. This reignited my passion to study God’s Word, pushed me to become bolder in spreading the gospel of Christ, drastically improved my prayer life, and refixed my focus on Him. It is amazing to watch the Lord move in the lives of His children, and I can’t wait to see what He will do with His body next.
I am forever grateful for Him rekindling my relationship with Colby Hannula! Praise the Lord!
– Ryan Hughes
