By Sara Israelsen-Hartley, Deseret News National Modified: April 19, 2014 at 11:41 am Published: April 19, 2014<\/p>\n
Hunched over her dining room table in a dark apartment, Danielle Walker sobbed into her hands. <\/p>\n
For a while, the drinking and late-night partying had felt liberating. As a 20-year-old who left behind her parents' house and the rules of her Baptist upbringing, Walker was euphoric as she explored the real world. <\/p>\n
But after five months, her first real relationship ended, her self-esteem crumbled and she realized she was drinking for medication, not recreation. Counseling didn't help and she'd often spend days on her couch, lost in a spiral of negative thoughts. <\/p>\n
Reflecting on this that March night, she slipped from the chair to her knees. <\/p>\n
\" 'You know what, God, she cried. You have to do something. You have to save me.' And that's when everything started to change in my life.\" <\/p>\n
Over the next year, Walker who left church, fed up with its rules and less-than-friendly peers embarked on a relationship with God stronger and more life-changing than anything she had experienced as a child. <\/p>\n
\"I would never have thought that by turning my life around I'd have such a positive outlook on life and feel so motivated,\" the 23-year-old said. \"Now that I do have a relationship with God, I see how good it is.\" <\/p>\n
For several years, the United States has seen a decline in religious affiliation. Currently, 20 percent of Americans don't claim a particular religion or church up from 15 percent just five years ago. Some worry that this shift into secularism will turn the United States into Western Europe. <\/p>\n
Yet others are more optimistic. They point out that polling data don't always allow for a nuanced discussion of faith and spirituality, and that many individuals still want to have a relationship with God, albeit on their own terms and with their own timing. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Here is the original post: <\/p>\n
Seeking God: an ancient connection in a new context<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Sara Israelsen-Hartley, Deseret News National Modified: April 19, 2014 at 11:41 am Published: April 19, 2014 Hunched over her dining room table in a dark apartment, Danielle Walker sobbed into her hands. For a while, the drinking and late-night partying had felt liberating Continue reading