The summer of 2001 the only thing I was looking forward to was time off from school. As a seventh grader, I had no clue that summer would change my life forever. A church friend of mine had invited me to go to SuperWow. She keep bugging me to go to the week long youth rally at Jekyll Island, GA. My mom had recently started making me and my little brother go to the nearby Berlin Baptist Church. I decided to go on the trip to get my friend off my case and to get a free trip to the beach. So I packed my bags and boarded a van full of young teenagers like myself headed towards Jekyll Island.

When we arrived, we started going to several different events. We went to meeting after meeting full of speakers and music. I was surprisingly having a good time. The second night things began to change. Instead of just having fun, my heart began to change. I was hearing things about Christ and God that I had heard all my life, but something was different this time. On the last night, the tug on my heart had become unbearable to ignore. The next thing I remember is walking down to the stage and kneeling to accept God as my Savior.
As I arrived home, I told my mom of the decision I had made. She hugged me and told me how proud she was of me. The next Sunday I was baptized. For about six months, I stayed on fire for God. As that fire and hype began to die down, I did not know what to do. By the summer of eight grade, I felt so far from God. That summer I started dating a guy who was not a Christian. During high school, I slowly faded away from church and stopped hanging out with my Christian friends.
When I started Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, I was completely out of touch from God. I had made so many bad decisions that coming back just seemed impossible. Half way through my first semester my boyfriend since eight grade broke up with me. I found out that he had been cheating on me for about three months. My heart was in such pain and I did not know where to turn. Luckily one of my roommates pointed me in the right direction. She invited me to the Baptist Student Union one Monday night. After a few weeks of going, I knew what I needed in my life. I need to get right with God. I decided to turn my life back over to God.
With my life turned back over to God, I wanted to insure that I would not fall back away from God. Many different leaders at the BSU would talk about having an intimate relationship and doing a quiet time. I had no clue what any of this meant. My church back home had never spoke of a relationship with God in this way. It was not until I went on a mission trip Christmas of 2006 I really understood what it meant.

After a long night of working with under privilege kids, I wanted nothing more than to lie down and go to bed. As I walked around the place where we were staying for the week, I notice that everyone was in the middle of their quiet time. I finally was tired of not understanding what a quiet time was. I went up to one of the girls name Divayna. She showed me what a quiet time meant to her. She explained what she did every night during her quiet time and explained that everyone's quiet time was different.

According to a Christian website, a "Quiet time, or devotion time, refers to our daily appointment with God, when we shut out as much outside interference as possible" ("All About God"). Basically a quiet time is just one on one time spent with God. Even Jesus had a quiet time, "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed" (NIV). Jesus set a good example of what a quiet time is for future generations of Christians. A Christian should do this out of desire not because they feel they have to.

Although the definition of a quiet time is simple, the way Christians do their quiet time is left up to the individual. This is what gave me the most trouble cause it took me forever to learn what way best fit me and how I wanted to worship and praise God. Even though I do not always do my quiet time the same way every night, I do usually pray and ask for wisdom to understand God as he speaks to me. Then I usually read a chapter or two of different books in the Bible. After divulging some scripture, I listen to a Christian song on my computer, read a chapter of a Christian book, or sit still and just listen to God.

Although that is the way I do my quiet time, there are many other ways to do one. Some people just simply sit quietly and pray. Others write out their prayer to God. Susan Taylor writes "Meditation makes us stronger and wiser, gives us insight, increases our faith. Regular meditation removes uncertainty and conflict from our lives, and anchors us in the peaceful, joyful life with us" (Taylor). To Taylor, meditation is what makes her feel close to God. There is no one set way to do a quiet time though. It is really depends on how the Christian wants to worship and praise. God does not care. He just enjoys one on one time with His people. Simply put on the Christian Union website "The details don't really matter so much. What is vital is that we do spend regular time with God - and the habits you develop as a student will return to bless you or to haunt you for the rest of your life" ("UCCF: The Christian Unions").

The reason I consider having a quiet time so important is because God desires to spend alone time with His people. Finding time to having a quiet time was definitely hard, but once I saw the difference it made it my life I made it a priority. The days that I get alone with God just seem different. I am much more outgoing and positive about events. I do not let simple things get to me as much. The Christian Union website states "We need quiet times because we need him. He is the one who makes sense of our life, not only in times of crisis, but also for the whole business of daily life" ("UCCF: The Christian Unions"). If as a Christian, I am suppose to walk in the way of my God and follow His will then I must spend alone time with God to know what that is.

Now looking back on my walk with Christ, I wish I would have figured out from the begin that being a Christian means having a personal intimate relationship with God. Just like I have best friends that I like to spend time with. I should also want to spend time with God. I think as a Christian learning to have a quiet time and the impact it can have is most important. Without a quiet time, it is hard to stay close to God and walk the Christian life. Even though I may not do it perfectly or everyday, it has definitely become something I desire to do. I have a passion and desire to share this important part of my life with all young Christians.