My story starts when I was 10, when my whole family converted to Catholicism. I have always loved the catholic faith but never fully committed spiritually. I would put other worldly things first. Like baseball or making crude jokes just to try to fit in. I was still a good kid, never partying or trying to get with girls, but I was still never living to the fullest.
Later in high school, I was getting more into my faith, but only to debate people. Spiritually, I was not in my faith; all I wanted to do was learn to win debates with friends or people online. My heart started to soften in the middle of my senior year. I went on a small retreat with my youth group, and it was the first time I had been deep in prayer. Ever since then, I have been taking steps in my faith.
The biggest step I took was when I was in junior college, going to St. Paul's Catholic Center in Wichita. I have never been around so many people who wanted to deepen their lives spiritually. Now everything I do has a purpose. I still play baseball, but it is only to give glory to our Lord Jesus. To show others that you can live a fulfilling Catholic life while playing a sport, be a good role model to whoever watches you, and even live a life outside of sports by having good friends and being in your community.
I am now a senior who leads the Catholic center at Washburn University as president. I lead 3 men’s groups, all with men who want to deepen their faith life every day. I would have never thought I would be in the position that I am in today without our Lord. The one thing I hope and pray everyone can feel is the love that I felt from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.