“In the fall of 2014, I had fallen into a deep depression. Problems in my life, compounded by horrible decisions I had made, had left me feeling trapped with no escape. Christianity had become just another of the many ‘masks’ I wore in an attempt to convince those around me that I was thriving I'd go to church on Sunday, see the smiles everyone wore, and attempt to mimic them, all the while knowing deep down that I was just a fraud. God couldn't possibly love me like He loved others, otherwise my life would look much different, right? It was so hard for me to receive the love of God when I was totally convinced, I was unworthy of being loved. Things continued to spiral downhill, and eventually I made a desperate choice that left me in a much worse state than before and had me facing some real-world consequences that felt insurmountable. Searching for answers, I thought back to a conference I'd attended earlier that year. It was an Exchanged Life Conferencep put on by Crossnet Ministries. This conference had excited me at the time, but due to the situation I was in I hadn't really spent a lot of time dwelling on what I'd learned there. It was suggested to me that I might want to go see Dallas Bergen, the Crossnet director, for some counselling. I resisted the idea at the time, as I had spent months searching for answers and was convinced there were none to be found for me. Finally, I relented and sent an email to Dallas asking if we could meet. I didn't know it at the time, but God had used all my horrible choices up to that point to bring me down a path that would completely change my life, or more accurately, the way I viewed and dealt with the world around me. It's a journey that began over 10 years ago, and I pray it goes on for the rest of my life. During this time, I began to learn the truth of Galatians 2:20; how it applied to my life in the here and now, and not just as some future hope. I had always used myself and my struggles for my point of reference when relating to the world around me, and I began to exchange this for the truth; that my old self (the one I was so sure was unworthy of love)  had been crucified with Christ, and I was now a new creation. Starting each day recognizing this truth and living out of it (instead of futilely trying to achieve it by my own effort) changed my entire worldview. The more I began to understand and trust who God is, the more I found my life being transformed by the truth. I started to recognize how I'd allowed my life's circumstances to shape what I believed about God, and I began to exchange that line of thinking for the truth about God—That He loves me, that He's forgiven me, that He desires to know me, that He has a purpose for me. These were things I'd heard, but never truly understood before. Or maybe I just didn't believe they were for me. When I began to embrace the truth, and got even the smallest taste of God's love, it changed everything.” “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”  – Psalm 34:8 (ESV)