For me, when I was younger, questions about God and religion were mostly an intellectual thing. I was taught to believe, but I also saw people around me who claimed to believe acting like they didn’t. That always made me wonder… does God actually exist? And if He does, what’s the right religion?
By my 40s, I had done a deep dive into world religions, trying to make sense of it all. None of it really answered that central question.
Then I met a girl. We started dating, and she said, “I’m a Christian.” I said, “That’s nice for you, but I’m pretty sure God doesn’t exist.”, she didn’t believe me… “Oh you’re an agnostic”
One Friday I asked her out, and she said, “That’s my prayer meeting night, why don’t you come along?” I figured, sure, I want to get to know her, so I’ll go. She warned me, “Just so you know, people will be speaking in tongues and it can get pretty intense.” I told her, “No problem. If it gets weird, I’ll just wait in the car.”
So I went. The pastor opened with a prayer, people stood up and started praising God… and something hit me like a ton of bricks: God is real. It’s hard to explain, but it was like something in me suddenly knew, without logic or debate.
Afterward she said, “It’s okay if you don’t want to come again.” I just said, kind of sheepishly, “Actually… I think I’d like to.”
That night changed my life. I kept going, had a few more experiences like that, and about a month later, at a church picnic, I became a believer.
That girl became my wife. She has dementia now, and is unable to speak except in rare lucid moments. One time I was able to tell her how much I love her, and she was able to say “I know.”
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