I just wanted some friends….some people who liked me.  My first few weeks of college were not the college dream I had hoped for.  I tried to connect well with my roommate, the guys on my tennis team, and some others, but I felt pretty isolated.  

It wasn't that I was so desperate for attention that I'd do whatever anyone else was doing. My brother's life had been so messed up by alcohol I didn't want to drink. I wanted people to accept me for who I was.  So there I was thinking of transferring to another college, hoping things might be different there.

Then I met some friends who really accepted me.  They pointed me to something that was already at work in my life, but I didn't fully understand it.  They were Christians, and they reminded me of what I already believed, that the Bible shows us that God's acceptance of isn't based on who we are or what we do. His love is a free gift.  I was reminded that when I put my faith in Jesus as a child, the acceptance I was looking for was right there waiting for me.  As I grew in my understanding of what Jesus had done for me, it changed my outlook on everything. With my need for acceptance met, I could begin to live in a way that focused on what I could do for others, rather than what they could do for me.  God had changed my perspective through his radical love.