As the son of a successful corporate lawyer, growing up was pleasant for me. In my early teens my parents sent me to an elite private boarding school. Due to my great interest in art, I was then sent to a high school specializing in art and academic studies. My artwork and academic achievements there won me a scholarship at the Ontario College of Art, Canada’s most prestigious art college.
When I entered college, I was placed in the third year of the four-year art course—only the second student in the history of the college to receive this placement. At the end of my fourth year, I was given another scholarship and a grant to travel. After returning from extensive travels in Europe, I was hired by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, where I worked for four years as a graphic designer. I also did freelance illustrations for a top agency in New York and for major newspapers, magazines, book publishers, TV, and animation companies.
I had climbed the ladder of success in my field, but it wasn’t enough; my heart was not satisfied. I began to understand that “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15 NKJV). I began to see that the things I owned, owned me. I wanted to find the true meaning of life.
Then one cold winter night on the downtown streets of Toronto, Canada, I met a total stranger who, in less than an hour, explained passages to me from the Bible that changed my life in the most profound way. That night I asked Jesus to come into my heart and found the greatest of all riches—Jesus and the Word of God.—Michael, from Canada