Rounding the final lap of my undergraduate career–a journey that has taken me across three universities, two majors and one life-defining change-of-heart–I often find myself on the campus grounds, as my night classes draw to a close, thanking my God for all He has done to bring me this far.

On these nights, I pull out a warm jacket while hunting for an empty bench, somewhere beneath the open sky. I wait for the crowd of students to thin, even as I watch the stars come out. In these moments, I begin to pray. I smile, because every time it reminds me of that first time.

I heard about Jesus growing up–in church, in school, in media–but when I left for college nearly seven years ago, I could not care less. Any belief I once had in this God was long-eroded before I ever stepped foot on my first college campus. Within six months of being on my own, I watched my life fall apart, my relationships hollow and my heart grow cold. Then, one night, I found a bench on campus. I sat and lamented aloud of all that I had made of my life. I have never been more empty, or more desolate and it was in this place that God found me.

How can I explain it? All I know how to say is that I encountered Jesus, the God who loves me. And when He found me, I found peace and belonging–more than I had ever thought possible.  Faced with the reality of the experience, I knew I could not retreat back into the life I had made for myself. After feeling such a profound love, I remembering praying in that place, offering the totality of my meager life to this God, because that sense of love was better than anything I had ever experienced. That prayer began an earnest relationship that has shaped my whole life–a life characterized by hope, one I never knew without Him.         

Since that first time, I often go to wait under the night sky–to pray, smile and remember all that He has given me. This God who has provided me with purpose and refuge is the same God I have trusted to guide me daily, even as I stumble along the way. He is a God of love that captivates completely.    

I smile now too, because I know He is still finding people–showing all of them how much more there is to this life and the next.