Every night I was seized by imposing thoughts, "What happens when you die?" I knew I was young and shouldn't worry so much, but I was frightened with the thought that I might die that night and face an uncertain future. I wanted to believe that my good works would get me to heaven, where there is joy and blisss. Only one problem. I knew I did a lot of bad things, too. After one particularly difficult night falling asleep, in the morning I told my mother about the thoughts that I often had. She smiled and said, "You are just a boy. You don't need to worry about this."

Her answer pacified me for a while, but I continued to be haunted by the fear of death. When I was sixteen years-old, I went to a retreat for teenagers put on by my local church. They gave us each our own paperback Bible. I eagerly thumbed through it, curious about what it said. We read the Bible together and some of the leaders gave talks about God from the Bible. I learned that God is loving - I had always thought of God as being cold and distant. I had heard that Jesus had died on the cross, but it was the first time I heard the reason. He didn't die because He had a committed a crime - He was innocent. He died in my place for my sins. After the talk, I went up to the one of the leaders and said, "I believe this. What do I need to do?" We prayed together and as the days and weeks passed, my life changed. I started to read the Bible that I was given and talked to God in prayer.

Now, I don't fear death at all. I look forward to heaven when I will see Jesus face to face.