One of the greatest joys working at STP has been watching God at work in the lives of our students and young leaders. It’s a pleasure to offer this weekly space for another TTA Takeover. I pray you are blessed by Zach’s courageous honesty and God’s faithfulness to him.
Hey! My name is Zach Snover, I am 18 years old, and this is my eighth and last year in STP. I was introduced to STP by my older sister and once I stepped on stage and experienced what STP was really about, I never wanted to leave. Just a few of my favorite things I loved and still love about STP are the friends I have made, the way I can be loud and sing for my Father on stage, and I love that it is basically my second home. One of the biggest things that I have learned at STP is trust.
When I was 12, I realized I had a mental illness that made me overthink everything to the point of having mental panic attacks. This mental illness is called OCD or obsessive-compulsive disorder. A lot of people will say they have OCD when they can’t stand a crooked picture but in all honestly, that is not what I mean by OCD. For instance, if I didn’t wash my hands for close to five minutes, I would start to overthink until I did the compulsion that my brain was telling me to do. This happened with many things in my life, and it started to completely take over and ruin my days. It got to the point where it started affecting my participation in shows at STP. Over the course of the first two years at STP, I struggled with this disorder, and it really started making me dread show week. If it wasn’t for the Lord, my family, and STP, I know I wouldn’t be where I am today. What the Lord did for me was He made me realize that no matter what I was going through, no matter how mad I was at Him or how I would shove him to the side, He was never going to stop chasing after my heart and was always going to be there for me when no one else would be. He showed me who I am to Him, which is that I am His son. I am loved and I am wanted. Through my life, I have gone through different trials and hard times which have made life terrible at times but honestly, I wouldn’t trade it for anything because those events in my life have made me who I am today. If I were to sum up my eight years at STP in one word, I would say it would have to be family. I have never ever felt unwanted at STP.
Also, I want to say that no matter what you have done, no matter where you are in life, always know that you are loved, you are wanted by your Savior, and you are never alone. One of my favorite scripture verses is Jeremiah 29:11-13 which is
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
The reason I love this verse is that if we seek a personal relationship with the Lord, He will hear us and answer our prayers and He will be with us!
Lastly, I want to close out with a thank you to all of the friends and family I have made here and to say that the Lord has used you guys to change my life and I will forever be grateful.
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