Walking Into Faith at Trinity, Anoka

I grew up in a completely non-religious household and never thought I would be any different. My parents had negative experiences with organized religion in their youths and didn’t want me to go through anything similar. All the same, through my family, friends, and life experiences, I came to have a strong sense of values, desire for justice, and appreciation of reason as key elements of the human life. I have also had the privilege of traveling the world and meeting all sorts of people from many different walks of life. I long felt able to synthesize all of these elements into a cohesive life story that felt complete and satisfactory.

I now know it wasn’t quite so. 

My fiancé one day expressed a desire to return to church. She had grown up in a Christian household but had not been active in any church for many years. I figured that I would tag along just to support her. We tried a few different local options before arriving at Trinity Episcopal Church in Anoka. I immediately felt a certain something in the atmosphere I hadn’t experienced up to that point, but I chalked it up to basic human warmth and welcoming. Sure enough, though, the beauty of the worship, the connections with Fathers Bob and Dave, and the love of the congregation worked their way into my soul. I ended up being baptized last Easter, eager to dive into my new Christian life.

Looking back now, I see that God was always there. In my love for others, my wonder at creation, my intellectual endeavors, and everything else, the Holy Spirit was at work. Like a late entry in a long-running series of novels that casts new light on an earlier installment, I now look back at my life story with fresh eyes and a new appreciation for everything. Rather than a crisis of identity or cognitive dissonance, I simply see the divine love and stewardship that was always lurking just beneath the surface. 

I’ll never be able to repay my fiancé for bringing me to Christ, even if it wasn’t her conscious intention. Nobody else could have brought me into those doors, and for that I am forever grateful.