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Teen Revival
There's No Looking
Back
By Kalista King & Caitlin Beasecker
Today I am sharing the privilege of writing this article with another
very good friend of mine. This girl goes by the name of Caitlin
Beasecker and she is a freshman at Greenville High School. Now what
Caitlin doesn't know is that I have been wanting to write an article
with her for a very long time because as soon as I met her, I knew that
God was going to do huge things in her life. I'm not sure why I felt
this way when I met her, but for whatever reason the Lord laid her very
heavily on my heart and I knew He was going to move mightily in her.
One day she came up to me at school and asked about Aquire the Fire,
which is a huge youth conference that my youth group goes to every year
at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. When Caitlin asked me
about this trip, I was so thrilled because I knew this was just the
start of the Lord getting a hold of her. I invited her to my youth
group that week, The Corner Shack, where she could learn more about the
trip and get paperwork for it. That night at The Corner Shack, Caitlin
was invited to a girls' retreat, called Untangled, where God moved in
huge ways like I knew He would. And this is where the story begins. I
will let her share the rest.
Caitlin: Hey guys! As Kalista left off saying, my journey started
with the Untangled retreat. It was my first night at The Corner Shack
and the retreat had just popped up. I went home that night knowing God
was calling me to go to this retreat. That weekend was one of the
greatest experiences anyone can have. God had started moving me in huge
ways, and He showed me that it didn't matter what I wore, how I looked,
how skinny I was, or how tall I was but He showed me that I was
beautiful the way that I am. And that I had a life long journey ahead
of me.
I let go of so many struggles that had been holding me back at the
retreat, such as the relationship I was still holding onto with an ex
boyfriend, past choices I had regretted, and even dealing with the
death of a great friend. I was blessed with meeting girls that I now
call my best friends.
I started thinking about some of the music I was listening to, shows I
had been watching, and even some of my friendships with people at
school. It then hit me hard that I wasn't making very good choices. I
went back to The Corner Shack, and saw my faith in God grow week after
week, listening and learning from the messages being shared. But I knew
that just thinking about God and reading His Word once a week wasn't
what God wanted for me.
I then tried out Saturday Night Prayer, which is a prayer group at The
Potters Weal. My first night there God was so heavy on my heart I
couldn't take it anymore. I broke down into tears wondering what I was
doing with my life and why I had strayed away from God for so long. A
few weeks later I felt God calling me to renew my faith at Saturday
Night Prayer. There was no better place to do it, but there. I grabbed
Kalista and told her I was ready for the commitment. We went into a
quiet place and prayed until we were out of words to say. There wasn't
a greater feeling than knowing I had just given my life, my commitment,
to God.
I started noticing a huge change in my life. I was reading my Bible or
"What If Your Blessings Come Through Raindrops," a devotional book by
Laura Story every night. I had started making an effort to go to The
Corner Shack every Wednesday and I had been putting in the effort to
wake up and go to church every Sunday Morning. It wasn't until Saturday
night that I had realized just how powerful God could really be. I had
been going through some rough times throughout the week and I was ready
to just give up on God. I didn't understand why some things in my life
were happening, but God did tell me that I was going to experience
something that was going to shake me up so much that I would forget
about my past and would keep moving forward in my faith, never looking
back.
I had gone to a Revival service with some friends where I was blessed
with the Holy Ghost. I knew it was my time to surrender
everything to God for good. I was standing at the alter crying when the
evangelist speaker and pastor had come to pray over me. The Holy Ghost
reached down to me and shook me so hard, my body went numb and shaky
and I began to speak in tongues. I felt the power of God just reaching
for me. That night was what God had been telling me about.
Last night was the night that shook me up.
I have a fresh beginning ahead of me. A beginning that has so
many new opportunities waiting for me. The beginning of a new "Caitlin"
that will only keep moving forward in faith and will never look back on
her past mistakes or insecurities. A new Caitlin that loves God
unconditionally and nothing less. I pray God can do the same for one of
you. Once you experience God's love and His grace, there is no looking
back.
Now real quick, I (Kalista) would just like to say that I have been one
of the many eyewitnesses who has seen this marvelous transformation in
Caitlin. She has been brought to life and I know without a doubt that
she will never be the same. As I have said many times before, we are
not alone in this. There is a great amount of teenagers who have been
revived as Caitlin has. Believe me when I say that this revival is
unceasing. As one teen after another makes the decision to embark on
the journey of a lifetime with Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior,
please continue to pray with us for more salvations. There is no doubt
in my mind that there are many more yet to come and I look forward to
sharing them all with you! Something is happening here, friends. Stay
tuned!
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