Under and back up again [1/3]

As I promised last week, you all will now have the chance to see Lisa's testimony now as well. It's in 3 parts and they'll be posted one each day. Thanks to Lisa for letting me share this!

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Looking back, I can see now that God drew me steadily towards him from an early age. What a blessing! At age 4, a song in pre-school convinced me to pray the salvation prayer. It would be years before a relationship with God and thus any spiritual fruit appeared in my life, but I was being prepared for that. My parents and church taught me about the Christian faith and I spoke words and sang songs that I couldn’t conceive the meaning of.

At age 9 I was baptized. I can’t remember why; none of my friends were baptized until they were in the youth program and I don’t remember it being a spiritual experience. However, I did obey most authorities and I’m sure I was taught that Christians are commanded to be baptized. My testimony was very short during the service and the pastor had to lift me to the microphone. I don’t think I included my successful conversion story; that my sister Kate and I told our younger sister Cheryl that we were going to heaven. She would go to hell… unless she became a Christian too. Fortunately, this actually worked and Cheryl is a strong believer today who teases us about our lack of sensitivity then.

When I went to my first junior high summer camp, God revealed himself to me. Suddenly there was color and depth to his character and I knew that he loved me and I just wanted to spend hours and hours in prayer. I’ve learned since then that at age 12 the brain can begin to think in the abstract, and God took full advantage of this development in me. Unfortunately, the rest of junior high was mainly unpleasant. I disliked and pitied myself and never truly surrendered to God. At school I was painfully shy and at home I became more and more stubborn and disobedient with my parents. I desired God and loved the time we spent together but would not trust him enough to obey him.

I believe at age 15 I truly became a follower of Christ. I met students a couple of years older than myself who lived purposefully, passionately, confidently and joyfully and I wanted to be like them. The difference was that they took God’s commands seriously. God taught me so much that year. He taught me to forgive, because our sins have been completely paid for. He taught me that I desperately needed forgiveness from him, and to humble myself by asking forgiveness from others. He taught me that he could save me from traps our fallen thinking leads us into. And he taught me that people really do need Jesus, not just for the difference between heaven and hell but to function everyday and to mend our broken relationships.

This led me to witness to a good amount of friends, something that goes against my people-pleasing nature and is certainly not a spiritual gift of mine. But God was using me for his purposes and high school is an easy place to find hurting, lost people who will discuss their beliefs with you. After awhile I became discouraged because no one was “saved” and by the time I went to college I witnessed far less frequently. I still pray for the courage and purpose of that younger self, but on the other hand now I dispense truth with more compassion and certainly listen more.

To be continued...

~B.