Anne Navalta
I did not plan on attending CCO’s Rise Up last year. The year prior was difficult so I thought that it would be better for me to have a lowkey and more quiet Christmas season. The idea of being around hundreds of young adults wasn’t super appealing at the time and to be completely honest, I was scared that if I gave Jesus an opportunity to show up for me, I’d be met with silence.
For some context, I grew up Catholic, went to Mass every Sunday, attended Catholic school, and I even took religion class seriously. So I knew that God was real - I didn’t question it. I did, however, question whether He cared about me personally.
The year leading up to Rise Up 2024 had been both beautiful and extremely difficult: I was growing closer with the Lord, I had a falling out with a friend, felt heartbreak, I was struggling to discern what my vocation was, and struggling to hear what God was saying in the midst of all of this. I knew that He was working…but where? I’d been told God was good all my life, but I had been on such a rollercoaster of a ride the previous year that I was starting to believe that either His goodness meant more suffering for me or that He just didn’t see me at all.
Despite feeling lost and hurt, I couldn’t help but think that the Lord was using this time to stretch my heart and edify me and that maybe Rise Up will be the place to hear Him.
My roommate at the time was a CCO Missionary and she gave me the final nudge. She said, "What a great way to start the year off with Jesus. Don't you think so?” And that tipped the scale for me.
Even though I didn’t really want to attend, I knew that it would be a good experience. I had only ever experienced the virtual Rise Up in 2020 and wanted so badly to attend in-person throughout university but didn’t have the time nor the means. Now I had the time, the means, and it was in my city, Calgary. Everything lined up. It was as if Jesus was calling me out into the water and waiting for me to step out of the boat during my own storm so that I could trust in Him just as He called St. Peter to do so in Matthew 14:22-32. Providentially, this was the verse and theme for last year's Rise Up: “TAKE COURAGE,” and Rise Up was where I heard Jesus’ voice loud and clear.