What does this day mean to me?

This is an emotional day for me, remembering that Jesus hung on a cross and died for my sins. How unworthy I am, that God loved me so much, that He sent His only Son to die for me......for me. I am still overwhelmed by the love of God, that words cannot truly express what I am holding in my heart. I have been a Christian for almost 8 years. I was saved in April of 1999. Some people may ask, "Well, haven't you always been a Christian, you went to Sunday school and church growing up?" This is what I would say: I always believed in God, but I never made a true public profession for my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savoir until I was 21 years old. Here is my story, my testimony. It feels right on this day to share it with those who don't know how I came to know Christ.
God's hand is always at work, even if we don't recognize it. I know, I have proof.....God changed my heart, He changed my life forever. Yes it is true, I grew up attending Sunday school and church. I learned the bible stories and the songs. I guess I quit going to church around my early teens. I just wasn't into it. I believed that there was a God, but I never took the time to know Him. Jared and I started dating when we were 16 yrs. old, and as many of you know, were inseperable. (Jared had a similar upbringing, went to Sunday school and church as a kid and that was it.) We ended up attending the same college, the University of Pittsburgh. One of Jared's roomates was a Christian. His name was Reagan. A young man who God used to lead us to Christ. He was a witness, a witness of who Jesus Christ was. I often saw Reagan in the Word, reading his Bible. What a nice guys he was. There was something truly different about him, now I know what made him so special, he had the Holy Spirit living in him. He never preached to us or made us feel uncomfortable.....He loved us and he prayed for us. When Jared and I would ask him "religious" questions he would stop what he was doing, and open his bible and read to us. He helped answer our questions by using the Word of Truth. How powerful God's Word truly is. Reagan invited us to church. So we said "Sure, why not." Every sermon we heard we felt as if the pastor was talking directly to us (Jared and I both). Something was happening to me, something I was unable to do on my own. I was becoming more aware of my sin, aware enough to know that I needed a Savoir. There was no way I was going to enter heaven on my own. On April 30, 1999 Reagan and Jared took me to a church in the South Hills to hear a speaker, talking about salvation.....what it meant to be saved. My heart was pounding as the pastor preached, so many events had led up to this very moment, but this was the most important of them. He told us to bow our heads, and asked if there was anyone who wanted to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savoir. I raised my hand and walked up to the front of the church, I got down on my knees and I cried.....like a baby. Jared had his hand on my one shoulder and Regan on the other. I confessed my sins before God, and I knew that I had been forgiven. That was it, that was the day God changed my heart and I gave my life to Christ. From that moment on I was saved. Saved from what you ask......I was saved from God's wrath. I was born a sinner, we all are, and God's justice for sin is eternal punishment.....hell. Christ took my place, my sins were nailed to that cross with Jesus. Although Jesus led a sinless life, he was punished for my sins........my sins. Because of Christ's death on the cross he paid for my sins, and because of His resurection on the third day, He secured a place for me in heaven. I was saved by the grace of God. After I was saved the song "Amazing Grace" meant something to me. "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me...... I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now, I see. "
God has me on a journey, living this life. He has truly blessed me with His presence. I am greatful that my life is in His hands, no other hands that I would rather be in. The road can get bumpy at times, but I am not traveling it alone, sometimes He carries me.
Today is Good Friday......A time for me to reflect on what Jesus has done for me, something that I don't think I will ever be able to truly grasp......but I am so greatful that He chose to save me. This is something I was not capable of doing on my own. Praise the Lord for His "Amazing Grace."