The Pursuit of God: How a WWJD Bracelet Planted a Seed in Me

I was obsessed with getting a “WWJD” bracelet when I was about nine or ten. WWJD stands for WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? The bracelet was trendy in the 1990s. According to Google, a youth leader in Holland, Michigan, created bracelets for teenagers at her church. The bracelets became so popular that millions were sold. I lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan, near where it all started.

The bracelets became an evangelical tool to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with someone who asked what the acronym meant. Once you told the person who asked about Jesus—you were supposed to give them the bracelet to pay it forward.

When I learned about this bracelet, I wanted it badly. Insomuch, I was on a search for someone who had one on. I don’t know why I was so eager to have one because we didn’t attend church, and I had no fundamental understanding of Jesus Christ. At that time, my motive was strictly for the trend and popularity.

These bracelets were trending like a hashtag on social media! I was afraid to ask my mother to buy me one because I felt she wouldn’t have understood why I wanted it so badly. Nonetheless, I was on a hunt, and one day, a white man came into my neighborhood. He had on a green WWJD bracelet. I spotted it from my porch. He was out front speaking to someone.

I remember feeling adrenaline shoot through my body, and my heart began to race. I told my older cousin I spotted it, and he encouraged me to ask. After he gave me the green light, I ran down to the man and said, “Hey, what does that bracelet mean?” He smiled and began to take it off. He kneeled down and looked me in the eyes as he grabbed my wrist and said, “May I place this on your wrist?” I held it out, looking at him, tightening it to my small wrist size. He explained to me what it meant and told me about Jesus.

Overjoyed, I said, “Thank you,” and ran back to the porch with a massive smile. I held my wrist up and said, “I have one!”

This story is special to me because I believe God has been pursuing us our entire life. I think he orchestrates events to make us aware of him—whether we attend church or not. God wants the world to know him. He desires for all of us to be saved.

Although I didn’t go to church nor accept Jesus as my savior at that moment, I believe that the WWJD bracket was how he was pursuing me. I wore that bracelet faithfully. I remember sleeping that night feeling so good. I remember looking at it and feeling so special. Although I didn’t get a chance to pay it forward— it planted a seed in me to one day accept Jesus.

I share this story with you because I believe God is relentlessly pursuing humanity to save and love us deeply. Wherever you are on your journey, God is not far from you. Years later, after accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I ordered myself a WWJD bracelet.