Well I'm not real sure where to begin. My story is not very dramatic but it is mine. This is the tale of how the Lord wooed me, and called me to become his daughter. My prayer while writing this is that some who see it will see themselves. There are so many out there who know church but do not know JESUS. I would like to say to you it is possible to go to church every week, give of your time and money and still not know the ONE to whom the church belongs. Even though you may know about HIM you may not know him. But believe me HE knows you and would love to be LORD of your life. In fact HE loves you so much that HE died on a cross for you.
O.K. Here goes. I was born in Florida. My parents divorced when I was 18 months old. My father gained custody of me and my sister and brought us to California to begin a new life. Being a single parent is never easy but being a single father in the sixties was near impossible. My father felt he could not care for us properly so he placed us in the Foster Care Program. I can hear the grumbling coming through my computer so I must stand in defence of my father. He did not abandon us to the system. In fact we spent every weekend and summer and all holidays with him. He simply believed he could not provide the stable homelife that children so very much need and chose the best option available to him. After about one year and several homes which were never quite right we were placed in the home of a wonderful Christian woman where we lived for the next eight years.
We called her Grandma. And still do. {NOTE: Grandma left her eartly tent to spend eternity with her LORD on Palm Sunday 1998} She fed us, she clothed us, she took care of us when we were sick and made us brush our teeth and bandaged our scrapes. She loved us. She was in all respects our mother. Most importantly she showed us who Jesus is. She took us to church twice a week and sent us to Good News Club. It was at Good News Club when I was eight years old that I asked the Lord to come into my life. My life was very shortly going to change and I will be forever grateful to Grandma. She helped to lay the foundation which over time I allowed to become overgrown with weeds. But even though it was buried beneath the tangle it was there and solid.
When I was twelve years old it was decided that my sister and I should meet and get to know our mother. We had only seen her once since my parents divorced. We were put on a plane and sent back to Florida. We were supposed to stay for the summer but ended up living with my mom until I left home at 18. Well the summer was great fun but when I learned that I wasn't going home you can probably guess what happened. My mom who had no parenting experience was suddenly the parent of two teenage girls. The poor thing never had a chance. Becoming a parent is easy. Being a parent isn't. It is a moment by moment learning experience and not something that you can just learn over night.
As I'm sure you've already guessed. Massive rebellion ensued. It started with smoking, then drugs and drinking. I did alot of things I am not proud of but the thing I regret the most is the pain and heartache that I caused my mother.
I should make clear that all through my teen years I called myself a christian. I went to church and youth group. I knew the talk but not the Lord. However Jesus knew me and was waiting patiently for me to return to him.
At 18 I had had enough of the swamp and the bugs. For those of you who live in Florida my humble apologies. I understand there are people who actually like living in Florida. Actually both of my parents and my sister are quite happy there. It was however not the place for me. So in November of 1979 I packed up all my earthly goods and back to California I went. In February 1980 I met the man who was to become my husband. We had our first date on Feb 27 and have been together ever since. We were married in Dec 1980 and our first child was born in July the following year. He was not a christian though he too had grown up in church.
When I became pregnant with my daughter I knew I had to leave the partying behind. As she grew I knew that I wanted her to have the same kind of opportunities as I did and so did my husband. When it was time for her to go to school we decided the best one for her would be a christian school. There she would recieve the same teachings as we had had but it would not be our responsibility to teach them to her. Little did I know what the Lord had in store.
As those of you who have children in christian school know. You dont just send your kids to school. The parents are just as involved in the school as the kids. Well through being involved in classroom and fundraisers and all that STUFF I was being exposed to real christians for the first time since I was a child. At first I did my best just to fit in. But very slowly the Lord began to show me that I was faking it. You need to remember that I really believed I was a christian. I do believe I had received the Lords salvation but I had not given him control of my life. I had received him as a child and that child had never grown up. During this time we had moved around quite a bit and had two more children, both boys.
The Lord finally brought us to the beautiful Central Coast of California. Not only did He place us in Heaven on earth He surrounded us with His people. Through a neighbors invitation I sent my children to AWANAS. Another neighbor invited me to a Bible Study. Through these wonderful saints of God I soon realized that in order to be a christian you must KNOW the Lord not just know ABOUT Him.
When I started to go to Bible Study I developed a hunger for the WORD of GOD. The more I learned the more I wanted to learn. I couldn't get enough. Through my studies He showed me that I was no longer the child who had received him and it was time to make a decision. Let Him be in control or turn my back and walk away. Well only a fool would walk away and if I had I wouldn't be writing this now. There were no bells and whistles. No fireworks or bands playing. But I know there was rejoicing in heaven as I got on my knees and gave my life to Jesus. He assured me that I had been his for many years but it had taken me this long to realize it.
My husband thought I was nuts. What do you mean you got saved? Why do you want to be baptised? Can't you read anything but that book? Boy did we have some doozy fights. Little did he know but the Lord had plans for him as well.
For three years I prayed, my church family prayed, my friends prayed. Finally on Mothers Day 1991 he came to church with me. He met my pastor and they became good friends. Almost a year later he stood up in church and made a public confession. He and our daughter were baptised together in the Pacific Ocean. As always the Lord has perfect timing. Four months later he was in the hospital having emergency hernia surgery. The surgery did not go as expected and he ended up there for 4 months. If he had not had the Lord in his life at that time I dont think he would have made it through. This however is another tale and best told by him.
Well that was five years ago. We have been through good times and struggles since then. But always Jesus has been there to hold us up and walk us through. As I look back on my life I realise He was always there I simply needed to learn to recognize Him. The foundation had been laid when I was a child and though the weeds grew up so I could not see it. It was always there. Once the weeds were cleared I could see the foundation was solid and I could begin to build.
Jesus said "Let the little children come unto me, and hinder them not." Show your children the ways of the Lord. Introduce them to the best friend they will ever have. Help them lay the foundation that they may build on as they grow. I know that when the Lord calls me home if I have done nothing else in this life except lead my children to Him, then I will stand before my Master and I will hear Him say "Well Done".
Well this is the end of my tale. If you have gotten this far I thank you for hanging in there. If you are not a christian and have any questions about Jesus please go here or you may E-Mail me and I will be happy to answer your questions personally.
May the Lord Jesus Christ hold you in the palm of His hand.
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