John 2:11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

When I was a teen I did not like the path I was on in life, following the mistakes of my oldest brother. I wanted off that path. My first prayer was God’s opportunity to show me He was real. In that moment he took me off the path of anger without cause. He changed me.

Knowing there is a God does not mean that understanding comes with it. I lived the other parts of my life unchanged. Anger was gone but all the other sins were still being manifested in the way I was living. Decades went by believing there is a God but not believing God.

Then my father died and I saw my life as one whole regretful encounter. In my despair I repented of the life I had lived with all its mistakes. The moment I repented God spoke to me.

2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

When I was a teen I had not done enough to produce godly grief. I was naive. Later after a life of sinfulness, godly grief was present. Repentance at that point led to salvation. I turned and began following Christ.

Now this is my story and it may or may not be your cautionary tale. Maybe similar but not the same. One common denominator is always repentance. We cannot follow Jesus without it.

That night I opened a bible for the first time in years. Regret was left behind and looking forward was the only thing on my mind. Perhaps that is what faith is after repentance, looking in the right place for answers. I didn’t know what I was doing back then. I do now.

Once again, this is my story. We all have a story.

What does yours sound like?