Surrendering to the Better Way

May 1, 2025 / by Gaige Rinkenberger

My story is not special or unique by any means, it’s probably a common reality. My younger years were spent pursuing value or things I thought would make me valuable to others.

I wanted to be worthy of love and attention and feel like I belonged somewhere. Every success became checking a box of expectation and every failure a reinforcing of negative self-perceptions. It didn’t matter the arena: school, sports, work, or life. The outcome was the same, further down into the mental hole I was digging. I was purposeless, floating from one thing to the next trying to fill a void with the things of the world not fully understanding the weight of my actions. It would only be once I fell far enough down into that hole that I would find myself at the foot of the cross and my eyes would be opened to the truth.

There was never a doubt for me about the existence of God or that following Jesus was something that one should do. That undeniable truth was ever present like a whisper in the back of my mind. Like most, I had to run from it, but every time I reached a point of exhaustion, where the anger, anxiety, and addiction would become unbearable, that still small whisper would call out to me. As if Jesus was saying to me, I’ve been here all along, hand that over to me, I have a better way.
A better way that had the answers to my pursuits.

“He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the holy spirit” Titus 3:5

Purpose, value, worthiness, and belonging weren’t something for me to achieve or earn but for me to receive through the following of Jesus. The things I searched for weren’t found in victory or hard work but through surrender.

“But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you”. Matthew 6:33

Gaige has attended East White Oak for 3 years. He currently works for Gibson Area Hospital Elite Sport & Fitness as a Strength & Conditioning Coach and coaches baseball at Prairie Central High School. In his free time Gaige can be found spending time with family & friends, participating in whatever sport is currently in season, or on the water in a kayak or boat.