Living Life Testimony — Byoungwhee Sohn

Hello everyone, I will be sharing my experience taking Living Life Bible Study.  

Before taking the bible study this year, I had wanted to take it for 2022 but was unable to, due to myself being far away from home for university. At that time, I was the most distant away from my family, church, and God. I was making excuses all the time for not attending church every Sunday while in Ottawa and I never made time for prayer every day. I was at the lowest point in my faith during this time. Then I was lowered even deeper as I wasn’t doing well in university, I was skipping classes, and I didn’t enjoy what I was doing in my program. So, I dropped out and switched to college and was closer to the things and the people I love. I had the opportunity to attend Living Life, and so I took the chance to pursue what I was missing in my life.  

Attending the classes every week was a little challenging at first due to my schedule of classes and having to drive back and forth to church and home at night. But later I found myself enjoying the journey to the classes and being able to learn and talk with my classmate and Pastor Caleb every week. It was something I had looked forward to doing every week and made my busy schedule more productive and worthwhile.  

Now the homework on the other hand......yikes. The weekly homework for me was challenging and tedious as I was procrastinating and leaving it for the day before the bible study. But later I found myself realizing the reason why we needed to do the homework. It was for the benefit of my spirit, as I had never really read through most of the bible in my life. So, in doing the homework and summarizing the chapters of the bible, I had grown an appreciation for the work that I was putting in and enjoyed the amazing stories and messages in the homework every week.  

While attending the classes, I found myself listening to Pastor Caleb’s messages and going, “Ohhhhhh, that’s why, and “I see, that makes sense”. I was learning so much more about the grace and love Jesus had given us, and my knowledge of the bible had essentially doubled. The messages every week kept me curious and attentive and would apply to my life and made me reflect more about my current state in life. 

The classes had me thinking more about my life as a Christian and made me reflect more on my past. Recently I would struggle with my integrity and personality towards people whether it be at home, school, or at church. I’ve had hard times where I didn’t know who I was really, and who was in control of my words and actions around certain people. I would find myself talking to certain people differently, as if I had multiple different personalities. This was conflicting with my everyday life as I was struggling to find which alter personality was truly me and if I was faking all my emotions to those around me and even to myself. Through this bible study, I was given a window into who I was and who I could be in the light of God. So, I began trusting the process that God was giving the message through Pastor Caleb to me to become the man God wants me too truly be. I began catching myself and filtering all the nonsense I would normally would have said to people in the past and changing them into words or actions that would please God as if I were speaking to him. But I will say that it is still a work in progress as I talk a little too fast sometimes and that I am still a young adult. 

In the end, I was now at the stage where I was then brought back from the depths and was given a stronger faith in God. Now I was in a school and program that I truly love and enjoy, and I felt that God had given me a chance at finding myself through his grace and love. A message that I will remember for the rest of my time is, you must go through hardships and trials for you to grow both in mind and in faith. God puts us through trials and hardships, not because he hates us, but because he loves us, and he wants us to grow. I hope and pray that God will continue to give me lessons through both hardships and prosperity to grow into the man he wants me to be.  

Thank you, Pastor Caleb, and Ryan, for making the past 13 weeks the most rewarding and enjoyable experience. Thank you for listening.