Building Life with the Right Foundation

During business school, Hugh’s mentor had invited him to church a few times, but Hugh declined. Hugh hadn’t been in a church since his early teenage years — and from what he could recall, church was too formal and out of touch with his interests. Growing up, his mother tried to keep him in church, but his dad usually stayed home to watch TV. As often as he could, Hugh opted to remain with his dad. He had developed his own life philosophy to follow — do whatever brings you the most happiness — thinking that would lead him down a path toward his purpose and dreams.

After graduating college on the East Coast, Hugh had packed everything up in his car to begin his new future in California. Along with his childhood best friend, Hugh planned to launch a new business and continue his education at a business school in the city of Claremont. The busyness of school and managing life in California quickly drowned the young entrepreneurs’ business plans — they never got further than the website — but the connections Hugh was making through his professors began to open more doors for his life than he thought possible.

One professor became a personal mentor to Hugh. He saw Hugh’s talent and work ethic, and recognized that Hugh had a few areas to improve on if he wanted to achieve his goals.

Through that relationship, Hugh experienced his first internship, which turned into a great career for the next decade of his life. His mentor also saw that Hugh needed direction and purpose in his personal life. Hugh invested a lot of time in work and school, but in his downtime, he spent much of his time partying.

Hugh continued to get to know his professor, and this mentor began to see some of habitual choices and behaviors that would eventually hurt Hugh’s life. He tried several times to encourage Hugh to look at the bigger picture in life, to see that there was a greater purpose than personal happiness. Hugh began to realize that his mentor only wanted the best for him.  He decided that he could at least go check out this church that his mentor couldn’t stop talking about — just once, though.

On a Saturday night, they drove down to Saddleback Lake Forest together and stepped onto the church campus. Saddleback Church was nothing like Hugh had imagined. He had always worn a suit and tie to church. Everyone at Saddleback appeared so casual and relaxed. Walking from the parking lot, Hugh was welcomed with a smile and handshake. There was no judgment or staring because he was new. Hugh felt as if he fit right in. And the contemporary service was nothing like his other church experience.

Hugh met several new friends during his first visit. After church, they all went out to dinner together. Hugh was asked if they’d see him again next weekend, which put him on the spot. Hugh thought about it. He imagined he’d be willing to drive an hour to attend a party, and thought that if he would do that, couldn’t he drive that far for a church?

Listening to the message at church, Hugh felt God was speaking directly to him. He realized that a lot of time had been spent chasing all the wrong things in life. He decided then and there that he would commit his life to Jesus. For the first time, Hugh began to realize that he didn’t have all the answers or know the right direction in life. But he was committed to trusting Jesus to lead him now.

At first, Hugh didn’t really know what that should look like. He had recently begun dating a women he’d met online, and their different expectations for the relationship began to immediately cause problems. After one of their dates, his girlfriend thought she’d stay the night with Hugh, but he felt uneasy about it. Trying to be open and honest, he told her about his decision to follow Jesus and that he was trying to figure out what that looked like. His transparency wasn’t well-received, and she immediately left Hugh standing there all alone. Hugh tried sending flowers, and left messages apologizing and trying to explain further, but she told him that she didn’t want to be with in a relationship with a Jesus follower.

Around that time, Hugh found himself sitting in a tent on a Wednesday evening at Saddleback Lake Forest. He was hungry to learn all that he could about his faith, about the Bible, and about living a life that would honor God. He sat at a table, week after week, with a group of volunteers from the greeting team he was part of. Hugh soaked in every bit of information that he could.

Near the end of the course, a woman from another table approached him and asked if he was dating or married. The conversation caught him by surprise. She was a little older than him, and Hugh wondered where she was going with her line of questions. Noticing his hesitation, she said she’d like to introduce him to her daughter — if he was interested. A few weeks later, as the group celebrated the completion of the Foundations course, Hugh saw a woman walk up from the parking lot and give the woman from the previous week a hug. Her daughter, Jen, had captured Hugh’s attention in that moment, and the following weekend, they went on their first of many dates that would soon lead to engagement and marriage.

Even at their wedding, family members were asking when they would start having kids. Hugh always felt like he’d have a lot of kids, and it seemed like the logical next step — but after trying for a few years, they couldn’t seem to get pregnant. He began to feel nagging doubts in the back of his mind.

It had crossed his mind that because of his college years — the girls he had slept with, the party lifestyle that he lived before — was holding him back from having a family now. He wondered if God was waiting for him to make up for all his bad behavior.

On Easter weekend, he stopped on the patio after church to catch up with one of the pastors. When the pastor asked Hugh how things were going, he opened up about the struggle to start a family. The pastor said that he’d never prayed for someone to have kids before, but he thought that was the best step in that moment. He also reassured Hugh that God wasn’t waiting for him to make up for bad behavior.

Almost exactly nine months from that Easter Sunday, Hugh and his wife welcomed their first child into the world. Now, six years down the road, they have added a son to the family dynamic, and are looking into adoption to grow their family further.

The path that led Hugh to Jesus had more than a few detours. But as Hugh has leaned into and trusted God, built up his faith through his church community, learned through the Foundations course, and seen God answer his prayer to have a child, he’s been given the strength and encouragement to keep on the track God has called him to.

If you need a fresh start with God, visit saddleback.com/freshstart

Learn more about Foundations at saddleback.com/foundations

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