Edmund Mitchell
I was raised Catholic but started challenging the faith in high school. I wanted to know if I really believed the faith I inherited from my parents. I explored atheism, other religions, and really challenged the catholic faith intellectually. I think even though I was convinced intellectually the Catholic church had the fulness of truth, my heart was still far from Jesus. I knew Him as an old family friend who'd always been around, but didn't have a deep personal relationship with Him.
In college I experienced a lot of people who knew less intellectually about the faith than I did, but spoke about Jesus as if they had coffee with Him on a daily basis. I realized I didn't really know Jesus. Whatever these people had, I wanted. I still saw the benefits of studying the faith but I craved a personal relationship with Jesus. This began a prayer journey that changed everything for me.
Jesus has taught me that a relationship with Him makes everything come alive. Jesus doesn't tire of listening to me, and He'll never tire of giving me love and mercy. When I look for unconditional love in other people, I'll always risk being unsatisfied or hurt. But Jesus is the only one that can give a type of faithful and unconditional love that satisfies. This brings me back over and over again to a quiet and indescribable place of encounter with Jesus that carries me through life's ups and downs.