“Kelly, why are you always so happy?”

What? The older boy talking to me had caught me off guard. We had ridden the bus home from school together for years and had become friendly, but I was taken aback by what was on his mind that afternoon. His question seemed to come out of nowhere.

If you had glimpsed my circumstances, you might have been surprised that anyone would ask me such a question. My mom had been battling cancer for about eight years and had been given just months to live (she would go on to live about five more years). She also struggled with agoraphobia. These things weighed on me in ways unique to an adolescent brain. With an ongoing sense of the fragility of life, I took up planning my own funeral “just in case” something should happen to me. Yet through it all, I managed to maintain a childlike faith and a desire to use every opportunity to help others come to know Christ.

But despite this desire, I found myself unprepared for what, in hindsight, seemed like a person just begging to hear the good news I had to share. He may not have been asking for my Christian testimony, but he did want to know about my source of joy, which was and is Jesus. But this is the answer I gave on the school bus that day: “Oh, I don’t know, I’m just a happy person.” Almost immediately, I knew I had not shared the true reason for my joy. I felt a pang of conviction and prayed I would give a more real and helpful response in the future.

God answered that prayer just a few months later when I found myself sharing with a relatively new friend what being a Christian meant to me. His response shocked me: “Kelly, I’ve been following you around all these weeks, just waiting for you to tell me this.” He then immediately gave his life to Christ.

These two conversations I had in my early teens have impacted me deeply. In the first one, I realized I was not “prepared to give an answer for the hope I had within me” (1 Peter 3:15). That got me thinking… What future opportunities might I miss if I didn’t pay attention and courageously trust God to speak to the hearts around me? With this in mind, I was able to approach my second conversation with boldness and found that God had already laid the groundwork for my discussion. I just had to believe He would give me the right words to say.

This work isn’t always easy. Engaging in spiritual conversations can be challenging on multiple fronts. We have our fears to battle, assumptions to overcome, and other people’s experiences to consider, especially as we navigate the shifting sands of culture. Yet, the work of Christ bringing us into a real, joyful relationship with Him– that is eternal and solid as a rock, and definitely something worth sharing!

If you are like me, and you want to be ready to share about the hope and joy you have in the Lord, if you want support and insight from friends who are on this same mission, please join us for the “Exploring Spiritual Conversations” event at Browncroft on Saturday, April 13! This morning of workshops is an opportunity for our community to be encouraged and coached on how to better engage in spiritual conversations in various contexts. You can register and select the workshops you plan to attend by clicking the button below.

Holy Week is a time to reflect on what Christ did and does for us– how He rescues us from all our brokenness and leads us into His joy. It is also a time to reflect on the extent of His great love that makes this possible, and His call on our lives to be like Him. We are to embody Him “in word and deed” so that others can experience His goodness (Colossians 3:17). As I ponder, I am reminded of how far I have to go, but also of the great joy I’ve found in sharing Jesus with those I encounter who don’t yet know Him.

I pray that this week you will reflect on the work of Christ in your life and join our whole community this Easter Sunday as we celebrate His steadfast and all-surpassing love– a love made available to us and to any who will receive Him.