My name is John Parish I was raised in Houston Texas. I love all kinds of music, sports, and hanging out with friends, typical right? But for some reason throughout my whole life I always had this lingering thought in the back of my head that would soon grow into this thing that took over my life….. “Is there more to life than this?” So in pursuit of this thought I got involved in my church youth group at Mercy Street. Now Mercy Street is a different church to begin with, it has a huge mix of people from all different struggles and backgrounds making it a very close community that is honest and open to anybody and anything.
But that alone didnt effect my walk with God. Throughout middle school and high school I always stayed away from drugs and anyone who did drugs (because alot of people in my family used drugs and it never turned out good). But I did have alooot of girlfriends and make very dumb dicisions in that area, I felt that something was incomplete in my heart that I thought girls could fulfill. Through God’s patience with me I have learned that I tried to make my self happy because most of my childhood with alot of junk with my family I only knew hurt, guilt, pain, and dissapointment, and my human nature told me well if thats what my family is like then that is what God is like. So I developed a distrust for God and it wasnt until many suicide attempts, tears, and breakthrough’s later that I learned to trust God not just that he was real and with me, but I was willing to lay down and sacrifice anything and everything for him to move in my life.
Coming out of high school I was so tired of all the “ordinary things” people were doing around me. “Lets go party”, ” I want to go to college” ” Im going to get rich and buy a big house”. The phase I would always ask people is, “well is that it?, You want to go to college, get a job , work work work, then…die? There has got to be more than that?” So in pursuit of this question in my walk with God (that was now stronger and more important that anything in my life) I decided not only would I not decide if I was going to college or not but I would do NOTHING until GOD TOLD ME WHAT TO DO.
One of my youth pastors told me I should check out AIM for an 8 or 11 month mission trip. I procrastinated, being who I am. Finally about 6 weeks before the trip leaves I sign up for it and God one night in prayer tells me, “this is what your life is for I want you to always have my name on your lips, and pursue me with everything you have. Make everyday that you live urgent as if i am coming back today”. Along with this I was reading Luke 18:18-30 the story about the rich ruler, where a man, a very “good man” to the world’s standards comes to ask jesus “what must I do to enter the kingdom of heaven”. Jesus responds you must follow the commandments. The rich man says “I have followed them all of my life”, and he says ok then give EVERYTHING you have away and follow me. The man walks away sad because he thought he has everything figured out that the documents say you follow the commandments and you will enter heaven, but Jesus requires more of us. I do not want to be like the rich ruler when Jesus comes back, meaning. If Jesus came back at this very moment would I say to him, “oh wait I just need to get this one thing, or I need to go do this first Jesus”, but to every day, and every moment check myself to see what am I holding on to in this world? Will I be ready if Jesus comes back right now? But to make my life a living testimony that Jesus is coming back and to be ready.
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