"I didn't find the Faith, the Faith found me"

We have been delighted to share a growing number of stories about people who reach out to the Bahá’í community through the 800-22-UNITE phone line or the public Web site. Sometimes people will research the Faith extensively on their own before contacting the Bahá’ís, and, since this option was made available in April, a growing number are declaring their belief online. This is a story of one new believer’s journey. It illustrates the receptivity that is everywhere around us. And of course, once an individual reaches out to the Bahá’í community, the local friends rise up to respond in whatever manner they are needed.

I didn't really find the Bahá’í Faith. The Faith found me. My journey started when one of my family members was in the hospital because they was very ill and the doctors couldn't tell us what was wrong. They kept running tests and giving us different answers, but all I could see was that a loved one was in so much pain. . . .

I used to talk to my friend about it, and all she could tell me to do was to pray, and that God would help me and my family through. Instead I did the opposite. I blamed God for the illness. I was beginning to lose my faith in God. Then, when my family member passed away, I stopped praying to God.

Around the end of the school year everything started spiraling down. I was failing classes and left choir, and I was even questioning my faith in God. So I began talking to my friend about it. She was a huge believer in the Almighty God, and she would preach to me about how He helped her. So then I began talking to someone else who told me, “It doesn't matter how you praise God as long as you praise Him."

So then I began reading about different religions and matching what I believe with different religions around the world, and the Bahá’í Faith was just the right fit. The Faith contained what I wanted out of a religion and a lot more. So then I began to study the religion and things began to fall into place. I passed my classes and got a job. I believe that God’s purpose on this wild journey was to prepare me for another family member’s death. This death was even harder to deal with, but I handled it better. Instead of blaming God for the illness, I thanked God for taking them out of their pain. Bahá’u’lláh’s scriptures are what gave me the strength I needed. And that's I how I found the Bahá’í Faith.