It is personal

I grew up in an Episcopalian church. I say grew up- but it was really just the elementary years. By the time I reached middle school, us kids had other interests than going to church (like sleeping in!) and my parents were fine to go about their to-do list, a valuable day for them to get things done when they were actually off work. I think it's a typical faith story, how we know about God, and have even attended church regularly at some point in our life, but don't really understand who He is.

I remember as I got older, some of my friends' families still attended church regularly. It disrupted my plans for sleepovers- either they had to go home Saturday night, or had to leave early Sunday. I always thought, 'Why are they still going to church and I'm not?'

I was missing an essential piece.

That God is, in fact, very personal.

He so wants communion with us that He sent His Son, to not only die for our sins so that we are reconciled to God, but also to show us His very nature. To show how deeply He loves people.

In my childhood, I hadn't learned about this personal nature to God- at least that was impactful to me. He was always kind of far away. Someone to please and pray to, but not with whom to have a personal relationship.

In high school, I joined a youth group my best friend was attending, and I went to a summer camp that I had attended in elementary school and adored. They were having their first ever high school age week. I had to go. It was this week that would change my view forever. The other kids knew stuff, like bible verses, how to pray, and I just became so curious as to what this all meant.

That's where my thirst really began.

These kids knew these things because they personally knew God. They would dig into the bible to learn more about God, memorize scripture so that when out in the world, they would know what was true, and knew "how" to pray because they were simply talking to their Savior.

My thirst for more information, more peace, more joy, became fulfilled as I met with God every single day. I would write in journals, read books, read the bible, and simply pray. I also found a church that fed me each week.

So how do we get to personally know someone that we can't see or hear?

First, pray. As awkwardly as you feel, it is not awkward to God. He doesn't need formal speeches or practiced prayers. He just wants the real you.

Second, open the bible. It's okay if you don't understand everything right away- you won't, in fact. But opening the living word helps us understand how God operates and how He has shown love for people.

Third, read other resources. See what other people are saying about the word, Jesus, and His personal nature. See my ever growing reading list for inspo!