(Submitted by Uplifter Member, Tina-Smiles)
This page is my testimony - I want to share it with you.
I grew up in a home where we didn't go to church. My mom watched evangelists on tv, and I do remember her reading her bible. Nobody in my home witnessed to me or ever prayed with me though. I did go to church with my next door neighbors for a couple of years in elementary school, and they took time to tell me about Jesus. When I started middle school, they had a baby, and I started hanging out with a different crowd. I backed away from church at that point.
By the time I was 14 years old, I was drinking and getting high on a regular basis (I actually started experimenting with it at 12).
I met a boy who I was crazy about and made the decision to start having sex with him. Within 2 months I was pregnant.
At 15, I gave birth to a baby boy and to this day he is a blessing in my life. I do believe if I did not have him, I would have been in so much trouble from the drugs and the alcohol.
I stayed in a relationship with my son's father, not married to him, off and on for 4 years. At that point, I had enough of the mental and physical abuse, and my son and I moved away.
When my son was 7, I decided it would be good to take him to church. He had been through a lot and I thought it would be good to get him in a different environment. I had no clue what was about to happen to me.
The very first thing I liked at this church was the music. I had no idea they could sing so beautiful and it would not sound so old fashioned all the time. It drew me in. Then I was glued to every message the preacher gave. I knew God was speaking to my heart.
When they gave the altar call at the end of each service my heart would pound. I didn't understand that. I asked the lady who was taking me to church with her about it and she told me some more about Jesus.
About 2 months after we started going there, they had revival. It was during then that I finally knew in my heart that Jesus was the love I had been searching for all of my life. A love that no man could fill--not even my son could fill it.
Jesus showed with his actions that He loves me, because He died on the cross for my sins when He did nothing wrong. He did it because He loves me so much, and He wants to see me in Heaven with Him.
All I had to do was ask for forgiveness of my sins and repent, then live for Him.
As the preacher said the sinners prayer, I said it along with Him, and I asked my friend Judy to walk the isle with me to tell the church. That was in October of 1994, and a lot has happened in my life since then. Praise God He has been with me each step of the way! I have even dealt with deaths of loved ones, but even then there were praises. One of them was with my dad. He had a terminal illness, but through much prayer and witnessing, he gave his life to the Lord-just 3 days before the Lord brought him home!!
It was such an experience to witness to him -scary at first, but God got me through it.
There is no love that compares to the love of Jesus. Because I know am His, I have a reason to smile :-)
I hope each you have a personal relationship with Jesus.
If you don't, it's my prayer that you will invite Him into your heart, turn away from your sins, and live for Him. God is a loving and forgiving God and He is just waiting for you :-) Thank you for taking time to read my testimony.
God Bless,
Tina
[This webpage series was created by Kenny Mitchell and ®2003 by WebUplifterMinistries]