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We are family

-Amelia Dowling

We all have our doubts, especially when it comes to our faith. It’s natural and any Christian you talk to will admit to doubting their own relationship with God. Our doubts help us grow in our faith and lead us to new avenues, where we can go deeper in our faith. Our doubts make our roots grow stronger because it stirs up in us a need to learn more and question more. By doing this, we discover just how deep God’s love, grace, and forgiveness for us is.

There is nothing more reassuring than standing in Ford Field, singing “Amazing Grace” with 30,000 other youth, who believe the same things as you do. Your body is shaking and vibrating, your heart feels the vibrations from the base, and for about 20 minutes after you leave, everyone’s still screaming because no one can hear after listening to 30,000 people sing at the top of their lungs.

You sit there looking around and think, “Huh. Ya know, every single time that I’ve ever had a doubt, I bet you every other person in this room has had the same doubt. I bet you every other person in this room has had struggles, maybe different than mine, but still hardships that they continued to believe throughout and after. I bet you every person in this room recognizes the sacrifice God made for us, cannot imagine doing the same, and is completely in awe from the love we receive.”

I felt these very feelings sitting in Ford Field; you don’t feel alone. You feel like you have a family – a large, extended, crazy family – but a family, nonetheless, because that is exactly what we are. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Amelia is a recent high school graduate from Maryland.
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