It’s 4 a.m. and, after 200 pages and five hours, Nick closed the book. He’d started it with the intention of winning back his ex-girlfriend, but now he was questioning the very fundamentals of his life. A pad full of notes and questions sat in his lap.
Sometimes, Jesus shows up in the most unusual of circumstances.
But let’s back up to the beginning. Nick had grown up around church, and it had been a normal part of his childhood. As a child he had faith in Jesus: however, as he grew up, his faith did not grow with him. It’s a story that many of us can relate to in our own lives. Slowly his faith faded until it was barely a memory inside of him. He never stopped believing in God, but his faith was static. While he might not have lost his faith, his life no longer reflected Jesus. Church and God seemed a hollow and empty concept to him.
Fast forward several years. He was staring down a difficult breakup with no discernible path forward. He and his girlfriend Megan were in totally different spiritual places. She was actively trying to follow God and Nick was not. Instead he was relying on anything but God. It came as a blow when she told him they were done. She explained that her pursuit of God was incompatible with Nick’s fledgling faith. To help explain her reasoning, she reminded him of a book her father had given him a while back, Not a Fan. (Yes, you can laugh at the irony of a father giving his daughter’s boyfriend a book of that title.) The problem was, Nick hadn’t read it. But heartbreak can cause a person to do some crazy things.
Nick rushed home to find the book. Surely, this would hold the key to Megan’s heart. He started the book with only the intention of winning Megan back, but ended up with a pad full of notes and questions. Lunch with Megan’s father seemed like the rational next step, after all he had provided the book. The end result of that lunch was a startling realization: Nick had spent his whole life as a fan of Jesus, but not a follower. The light bulb clicked on in his head and everything changed. Life suddenly became very clear. His faded, old childhood faith was replaced by a new fervor and drive as he rededicated his life to Jesus.
“It was the first time I had ever found peace in life. Sadness took on a different note. Anger dissolved.”
As his heart was changed, Nick desperately desired to be around other believers. Church community became a central part of life. No longer was it just an item on the weekly checklist for good people. It was among other believers that prayer became more than a boring mechanism used only when you are in trouble; now, Nick he wanted to talk with God and know him. His number one thought was, “How do I become more like Jesus?” His life became a living demonstration of the simple fact that when God shows up everything changes. As Nick puts it, “It was the first time I had ever found peace in life. Sadness took on a different note. Anger dissolved.”
Fast forward a couple more years. Remember the breakup that was the catalyst for this whole rebirth? There’s a happy ending. Megan saw the life change that happened in Nick, and their relationship reignited. Nick Bruen and Megan McCauley will be married on June 17, 2016. Jesus has become the solid foundation upon which their relationship is built. After only six months at IBC Nick has found a home, joining and serving with multiple ministries, including the Young Adults group. His passion for Jesus has resulted in a love for bringing others into the center of Christian community and helping them to find their place.
The reality is that Jesus sometimes shows up in the most unlikely of circumstances. His voice can call out in the middle of a night of brokenness. It can change priorities in a moment. It can even give hope and clarity to a life that has faded into fandom; and suddenly, your whole life changes from one of pursuing yourself to one of showing the hospitality and love of Jesus. Nick’s life is a wonderful example of what happens when we surrender to God and allow him to transform our lives.