When I was 17 I was challenged by a thought: "When it comes down to it, what is my purpose in life? Is it just to be a good person, get a good job, have a family, and buy a bunch of things?"

I struggled with this question and started to feel like there must be more to life. I watched my friends to see if they had any answers. Most of them were trying to make sense out of their own lives, but it seemed they weren't having any more luck than I was.

A few of my friends at Sardis Secondary School had answers to my questions that seemed too strange to be true. These "religious" friends were different from others because they said they had given God control of their lives.

They also said that knowing God meant knowing answers to my questions about the purpose of my life and what happens after I die. I didn't know much about Christianity, but the more I learned about my church-going friends' beliefs the more I became interested and filled with questions.

My friends told me about how anyone can talk to God and have a personal relationship with Him. I also discovered that God says he loves me regardless of what I've done in the past.

As I stood back and watched my Christian friends in my senior year in highschool I had many doubts about them, but I couldn't help noticing a difference in their lives. I saw their peace. I saw the love they had for others. The more I watched, the more I was intrigued.

After a number of months, I decided that what I was seeing was very real and I wanted it. So on a Winter day at Mount Baker, I prayed to God and asked Him to come into my life.

It's been a few years since I gave God control of my life and I'm still growing in my relationship with Him. I still struggle with problems in life, everyone does. The difference between today and when I wasn't a Christian is that now I have God with me to give me daily strength and confidence and purpose in all I do.

What I've discovered over the years is that I can live more easily knowing God is with me when I'm feeling weak. I can live each day in confidence that God will take care of me and never put me in a situation I can't handle. I now know that God has a plan for my life and that I will join him in Heaven when I die.

I've realized that success or happiness in life does not consist merely of getting a good job, being a good person, and treating other people like I'd want them to treat me. The people who find success are those who pursue excellence for God, not just for their own gain.

My search for purpose and meaning in life was resolved by a man who had no degree and held no office. A man who owned nothing but the clothes on his back. A man with a radically different message. A man who gave his life so that I might live life to its fullest. A man named Jesus.