LIVING UNDER NEW LEADERSHIP

If you had asked Pierce Adams a few years ago about church, he probably would have had a hard time imagining that one day he would look forward to Sunday mornings.  "I grew up going to church because my mom made it a priority," Pierce said. "But honestly, I wasn't very engaged."  He laughs when he talks about those years.  "My brothers and I would sit up in the balcony because we were so late, and we'd make ninja stars out of the bulletins and throw them at each other during the sermon."

Church was a place he attended, but faith hadn't become personal yet.  "I knew about God, but I don't think I really knew Him."  

During his middle school and high school years, wrestling was a significant part of his life.  "I grew up wrestling my whole life," he said. "It taught me discipline and work ethic. It was a huge part of who I was."  He loved the challenge, the competition, and the constant pursuit of getting better. Wrestling gave him confidence in some areas of life, but it didn't answer every question he was carrying.  

Looking back, Pierce can see a younger version of himself who wrestled with anxiety, self-doubt, and the pressure to figure everything out.  "If I could go back and talk to my younger self, I'd just tell him, 'Everything's going to be okay.'"  At the time, he couldn't have known how true those words would become. He couldn't see the ways God was already working behind the scenes—quietly preparing him, guiding him, and placing things in his path long before he understood why they mattered.

One example still makes him smile.  "I remember asking my mom for a Bible years ago. She bought me this really nice leather Bible," he said. "The problem was, I didn't read it."  For years, it sat untouched on a shelf. Looking back, he sees God's kindness in that.  "It felt like God had already put it there before I even knew I was going to need it."

God's Redirection

The turning point in Pierce's story didn't arrive through a sermon, a retreat, or a dramatic spiritual experience. It arrived through a shoulder injury.  "I got hurt wrestling, and it completely changed the direction I thought I was headed."  At the time, all he could see was disappointment. Wrestling had been such a significant part of his life, and suddenly something he loved was being taken away.

What he couldn't see was that God was already redirecting him. Because of that injury, Pierce ended up taking a summer government class, and there he met Esther.  "We sat next to each other and started talking."  What began as a friendship eventually became much more than a relationship. Esther became one of the people God used to draw Pierce closer to Himself.

Looking back, Pierce sees God's providence throughout that chapter of his life.  "If I hadn't gotten hurt, I probably wouldn't have taken that class. If I hadn't taken that class, I probably wouldn't have met Esther. My life could have looked very different."  What once felt like a setback now looks more like a gift—a reminder that God is often working in ways we cannot yet see.

Learning to Trust God's Plans

When Pierce talks about Esther, it's clear she has played an important role in his faith journey. As their friendship grew, so did the conversations they were having about faith, relationships, and what it means to follow Jesus.  One conversation in particular stayed with him.  "She shared this picture of a triangle. God is at the top and the two people are at the bottom corners. As each person grows closer to God, they naturally grow closer to each other."

The illustration was simple, but it gave Pierce a new perspective. Instead of focusing primarily on the relationship itself, he began thinking more about his own relationship with Christ. If Jesus was truly at the center, then growing closer to Him needed to become the priority.

Around that same time, Pierce found himself asking deeper questions about faith.  "I started asking a lot of questions," he said. "Questions about God. Questions about who I was. Questions about what I believed."  Those questions eventually led him back to the Bible that had been sitting untouched on his shelf for years.  "I remember pulling it off the shelf and actually reading it."  For the first time, he wasn't opening Scripture because his mom wanted him to or because he felt like he should. He genuinely wanted answers. He wanted to know God for himself.  Little by little, the faith Pierce had grown up around was becoming his own. He wasn't simply attending church anymore. He was learning how to seek God personally, trust Him, and build his life around Him.

As college approaches, Pierce and Esther are preparing to head in different directions. Esther will attend college in California, while Pierce will be heading to Vermont. Though it isn't the path either of them would have chosen, it has become another opportunity to trust God with the future.  "Of course we hope things work out," Pierce said, "but we've both gotten to a place where we want what God wants more than what we want."  For Pierce, following Jesus has become less about getting the outcomes he wants and more about trusting the One who is leading him.

Living With Jesus as Lord

In May, Pierce stood before his church family and publicly declared through baptism that Jesus Christ is both his Savior and his Lord.  "The Lord part really matters to me."  When Pierce talks about lordship, he isn't talking about perfection. In fact, he is quick to acknowledge the opposite.  "I still struggle. I still sin. I definitely don't have everything figured out."

What has changed is where he turns when those struggles come.  "I know where to go now."  That reality shows up in simple ways. Most mornings begin with a cup of coffee and time spent in God's Word.  "When I'm freshest in the morning, that's what I want to give Him."

Prayer has become an ongoing conversation throughout his day.  "Even if it's just quick prayers throughout the day, I want to keep talking to God."  

That growing awareness of God's presence has changed the way Pierce experiences hardship. He knows suffering hasn't disappeared, and he knows life will continue to bring challenges. But he no longer feels like he has to carry those burdens alone.  "Suffering is still part of life. Following Jesus doesn't change that. But I know He's with me now."  For someone who spent years battling anxiety and self-doubt, that confidence has become one of the clearest evidences of God's work in his life.

"I think when you really start living with Jesus as Lord, there's a confidence that comes from knowing you're not doing life alone anymore," he said. "You just start realizing you're okay."  Not because life becomes easy, but because Christ is faithful.

The Road Ahead

As graduation approaches, Pierce is preparing to leave for Vermont. He knows he'll encounter people with different backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives, but instead of feeling anxious, he's excited about what God has ahead.  Before committing to the school, Pierce reached out to several campus ministries.  "All three got back to me almost immediately."

During a campus visit, he attended a men's breakfast and quickly connected with students who shared many of his interests.  "I remember thinking, 'Okay, God is already here. He's already providing people.'"  

That realization reflected a pattern Pierce can now see throughout his life. Again and again, God had been preparing the way before he even realized it—a faithful mother, a Bible on a shelf, a shoulder injury, a summer school class, a relationship that pointed him toward Christ, and a church community where faith became personal.

As he prepares for college, Pierce often returns to Matthew 22:37-39:  "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind … and love your neighbor as yourself."  "I know I'm going to meet people from all kinds of different backgrounds," he said. "I want to love people well. I want people to know Christ through the way I treat them."

Looking back, Pierce has learned that God's plans are often better than his own.  "I don't have everything figured out," he said. "But every time I've tried to hold onto control, it's created anxiety. Every time I've surrendered something to Him, He's been faithful."  And as he steps into the unknown, Pierce does so with a growing confidence that the God who has faithfully led him this far will continue to lead him wherever the road ahead may go.