God Finally Had My Attention

Having been baptized Lutheran as a child, I grew up around the Church, but over time my faith slowly slipped into the background. I didn’t reject Christ outright, but I also didn’t have a strong relationship with Him. It was a gradual drift. I stopped showing up to church. I stopped praying. Without fully realizing it, I began to worship other things instead — and Christ was no longer at the center of my life.

As I moved into adulthood, life became increasingly difficult. I encountered repeated roadblocks and seasons of despair. I worked in an industry where I witnessed a great deal of moral darkness, and over time it hardened me. I became cynical and frustrated. I told myself I wasn’t being influenced by the depraved culture around me, but I was. Eventually, I reached a place where I could barely recognize what was good anymore.

One day I woke up and thought, This isn’t the way I was raised. This isn’t who I am. I couldn’t ignore the growing sense that something was deeply off. I knew I had to leave so I did. But it cost me. By the time I was 30, I was broke, betrayed, and angry. I had no choice but to start over. And in that moment, God finally had my attention again.

I returned to the most basic question: Who am I? I began searching, reading, and reflecting, and I found myself drawn to the Catholic Church. It reminded me of going to Mass with my dad when I was younger. Watching him move through life with grace and inner peace, no matter what was happening, was mesmerizing for me. What I once mistook for weakness, I now recognized as real strength.

In 2021, I began attending Mass at St. Isidore, quietly sitting in the back on the left-hand side, week after week, as I worked to rebuild my life from the ground up. During that time, I met my future wife, Kristina. As we got married and prepared to welcome a child, I knew something had to change. If I was going to be a husband and father, God needed to be at the center of our marriage and our family.

That conviction became real when our son, Jackson, was born. One night, I howled at him like a wolf — and he howled right back! He was mimicking me perfectly. In that moment, I understood the immense influence that parents have. It was a clear message: whatever I worship will shape my child. I knew then that anything I prioritized ahead of God in my life would eventually fail me.

That fall, I decided to become Catholic and joined RCIA. RCIA became a place of peace. Going to confession was humbling. I learned how to turn to God rather than simply powering through life on my own. Choosing to place Christ at the center of my life, rather than relying on my own strength, was a massive, life-changing decision. I am grateful for every part of my journey, even the painful potholes along the way. All of them led me back to Christ — and ultimately, home.

If I was going to be a husband and father, God needed to be at the center of our marriage and our family.

—Johnny, St. Isidore parishioner, husband and father