Mindy,
What a great question! So many people go around never thinking about spiritiual things and never get any deeper than the weather and the game on Saturday. I'm so glad you have deeper things on your mind.
Whitemirefamily did a great job of explaining the Christian faith, and I don't know if I can add anything of value, but...here goes...
I used to think that being a Christian meant believing in God, going to church, and trying to be good, so I did those things. But, as I began to study the Bible, I realized it was God's Word - not just a collection of good moral stories, but God's love letter to humanity (and me). It is completely true, accurate, and cohesive. And at the center of Scripture is Jesus Christ. He was totally human and He claimed to be totally God. That's a pretty hard claim to back up, so what did He do? He performed miracles of healing, miracles of provision (feeding 5000 with a coulple loaves of bread and some fish), and miracles of nature (calming the storm). Then, to top it all off, He died (in public, for all to see) and after three days, He rose up from the dead! The resurrection has so much eyewitness testimony, that we can be sure it happened - even 2000 years ago. So, I believed in Jesus, but I still was not a Christian...
Time passed, and I was leading youth at church. A very private sin in my past was exposed during youth group one night. All of a sudden, my "private" sin, that I thought was just between me and God, was public knowledge. And the worst part was...it had affected 50 kids that I loved dearly. My heart was broken as I realized how ugly I was compared with the Beauty of Jesus. That is called repentance. But, still I was not a Christian....
One day, while having quiet time, I felt God pulling me, asking me to make it formal. So I bowed my head, told Jesus how much I loved Him, how sorry I was for messing up, and asked Him to be Lord of my life. At that moment, I gained eternal life! Then I was a Christian, in the full meaning of the word. I would not trade it for anything.
I hope you, too, can come to love Jesus Christ with all your heart. I can tell you that there is no greater joy than to know that He is with me all the time - in the "valleys" and on the "moutaintops" - especially during this wild ride called adoption.
I strongly encourage you to find a church that:
- teaches the Bible as God's Word
- loves you and cares about you.
Thanks for listening. God bless. PM me if you have any questions.