- Feb 17, 2008
- 2
- 0
- 0
- 34
Hello,My name is Katrina, but I always go by Kittie. I like everything and I have a ton of hobbies and interests, more than I can even write here. I decided to check out this forum because I have a lot of questions I want to ask and also because I like meeting new friends.I'm a Christian, but unlike many people I know, I wasn't always one. My father is a Lebanese man and a Muslim. When a Muslim man marries, the norm is to raise his children in Islam even if the mother has a different religion. My mother had grown up Russian Orthodox but wasn't very involved in her religion at all when I was young and also before, so she never objected to that. So, in my early childhood I was raised Muslim. As a little girl, I always assumed I'd someday start wearing hijab, and that I would lead a life very different from most of my American born friends, even though I am an American and was born here. I probably would have had that life, except that my parents divorced when I was 7.After the divorce, my mom renewed her faith in God and decided to start going to a Christian church again. She sent me to a Catholic school for elementary, and then I started going to a non-denom Christian school after she got married to my step-father, who is also a devout Christian. I still go there, actually. At first, it was a huge change. My father had been comfortable with Christians and had taught me to respect them, but he'd also said the religion was misguided and incomplete. So, I was pretty skeptical of anything anyone said that didn't match what my father had taught me. The hardest thing for me to deal with was Christ. I'd grown up hearing of Jesus as a prophet and an ordinary man, so when I was told about the Christian view of Jesus, I was really surprised and confused. For about five years, I got accustomed to saying Christian prayers but I always substituted "God" for "Jesus" because I was sure it was wicked to pray to Jesus. After all, the way I thought, he was just an ordinary man, and we don't pray to ordinary people.When I was fourteen, I went to a camp as part of a church group. A lot of my friends from school were also there. It lasted a few weeks and there was a lot of time for soul searching. Part of what I did was read the gospels. I'd covered them a little in Bible classes but I'd never actually sat down and read them through before, or meditated on them. At camp, with one of the leaders, I did. I talked a lot about how impressed I was with Jesus' life and what he'd done, and how I thought he had great ideas for guiding our lives, but my camp counsellor challenged me and said if I could accept the miracles in the Bible, why couldn't I accept the "miracle" of Jesus's divinity and the concept of salvation. I decided to pray about it, and before I left camp, I had accepted Jesus and become a full Christian. That was almost three years ago. Since then, I've started learning more about what it means to be a Christian. I still consider myself a new Christian walking on very wobbly legs. One of my youth group leaders actually nicknamed me 'the fawn' because I get tripped up by small obstacles and fall over a lot in my walk with God, just like a newborn fawn does. But, I do get up and keep trying, which I guess it what matters. About a year ago, I started going to mass regularly with a friend's family. I'd gone occasionally before, but now it's something I do most weeks. I also go to a Protestant church with my mom and step-father, so I guess you could say I'm undecided about Catholicism and Protestantism right now. I just try not to focus on the differences but allow myself to be led. Most of the time, I'm more comfortable in the Catholic church but I'm not sure where I'll end up, and I'm not making the decision alone but waiting on God to lead me. I just pray and hope others will pray for me too. Anyway, that's my story and hopefully it gives you a glimpse of who I am.