Hi, My Name is Miriam....

Hi, my name is Miriam, and I am a chat-oholic.

Several months ago, I got turned onto to online chatting via a fun, little website by the name of "My Life Is Average." Honestly, I had never been in a chat room or done anything even close to chatting (well, other than on facebook). So, I thought, "What the heck? I'm 21; a legal adult. I should have a chatroom experience at least once in my life. Why not?" I clicked the "begin chatting" button, and so began my obsession.

The first guy I chatted with was some guy by the name of Sam. We talked for at least an hour or two on one of those rare there's-not-much-to-do days. He was a cool guy, 24, from New York--an engineer. After talking about everything from laundry detergent to movies, he asked my name. I told him, and his next question both surprised and excited me. He admitted that he had never even heard of my name before, and he asked how my parents came up with it. Cool!

Unlike most preteens and teenagers, I always liked my name...and I still do. I proceeded to tell him that my name was from the Bible (in Exodus 2, to be exact), and I gave him a brief synopsis of Moses's sister. We spent the next hour or so talking about spiritual things. I was truly amazed that God could use something as random as a creepy chat site to allow his word to be shared. In short, we exchanged e-mail addresses (a random address that doesn't have my last name or any of my personal info on it, of course). Through our three month correspondence, God opened up an opportunity to share the gospel and answer a lot of his questions. I don't know if we'll continue a relationship or not, but I know that our meeting was no accident.

Since then, I have had countless other opportunities to talk about Jesus with random people. Adham--a Muslim from Egypt; Martin--Canada; Rajapat--India; Allan--Kentucky....and many, many more. Someone once asked me why I was on the site. I love when people ask that. It opens up so many opportunities. I responded, "Everyone wants a witness for their lives. Everyone needs to know that their life counts. Obviously, a lot of lonely people are on chatting sites--I don't mind being a shoulder to cry on. In fact, that's why I'm here." I know it sounds cheesy (just call me "Velveeta!"), but I don't believe in coincidences, and I certainly don't think God is ever surprised or caught off guard.

So, for now, I'm: Miriam, 21, East Coast.