Memoirs of a Preacher's Kid

By: Kimberly Lim

Have you ever felt all alone? That nobody, not your parents, friends, sibling, or even your “bestest” friend, could understand the situation or problem you’re struggling with? That every night before you go to sleep, you cry your heart out until no more tears come out of your eyes because of that heavy load you’re carrying? Well guess what… somebody cares!

Yes, this is another cheesy article about experiencing God but I hope you would find my case interesting and learn something from it.

First, let me introduce myself. I grew up in a Christian home, fact is, I’m what you call a “preacher’s kid.” You can assume that I’m already familiar with spiritual stuff like miracles, answered prayers, visions, etc. Nothing really surprises me anymore. I’m one of the most indifferent people you’ll ever meet when it comes to spiritual stuff. I grew up with all these things happening around me, but instead of making me more passionate for Jesus, it just made me bored! I even questioned God why I became like that. How come I didn’t experience the enthusiasm that new converts (those who didn’t grow up in a Christian home) experience? How come God doesn’t speak to me personally?

This all changed one night. It was the most depressing period in my life. You see I have this friend whom I’m very fond of. We were very close, but as time passed, we both grew apart from each other. I always tried to keeping touch with this friend but it seemed that she’d only contact me when she needed something. I got really depressed over this. This may seem shallow to some people, but imagine someone close to you treating you like that and you cant seem to get angry at this person. I wanted to just forget about this friend but I couldn’t. I didn’t bother telling this to my parents and sister because I know they won’t understand my situation. So I prayed and poured my heart out to God. I asked Him why He was letting me go through this. What lesson am I going to learn from this? Then suddenly, He answered, “Child, can’t you see that this situation is so familiar?” I suddenly realized what I was doing to God all those years that I’ve known Him. I was ignoring Him and taking Him for granted, calling upon Him only when I needed something. I felt so ashamed so I asked for forgiveness and thanked Him that He finally opened my eyes.

From that experience, I learned that God definitely knows what every person feels and that even if it’s “mababaw,” He still cares. He’s always there, waiting for you to open up yourself to Him. He knows your every aches and pain and maybe even cries if He sees how heartbroken you are.

From then on, my prayer life improved compared before. As for my friend, we’re OK now, we still keep in touch, although not as often as before. But it’s okay because I know that Jesus is always there for me and I know that having Him as my best friend is way much better than any person in the world.