Mary’s Story

………………………………..

As I said, I was born into a very strong Christian family. My dad has been a man who has sought God on every aspect of his life & the life of his family. Growing up I went to many different churches because my dad wanted us to learn the truths of Scripture. What wasn’t learned in church was reinforced at home through the teaching & example of my parents. Shortly before I was saved I remember peeking in on my mom early in the morning to see if she was awake yet; and I saw her kneeling down on the side of the bed praying. Even though I was very young, I have kept this image in my mind because my mom is a woman of faith – nothing (it seems like) rocks her, she is solid in Christ.

Because God’s word is all powerful and sharper than any two edged sword, whenever it was taught my heart was pricked with my guilt before God because of my sin. God allowed me to realize, at a young age, that I was not good enough to be with him in heaven. I never would be. I was taught that I needed to be perfect in order to go to heaven. Teaching this to any young child who habitually gets spanked for their disobedience will cause them to think hard about their eternity – at least it did for me. God stirred in my heart the realization that if I was to die I was NOT going to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. Not only that, I was taught truths about what it meant to be a child of God – the truths the we have a friend who will NEVER leave us, never forsake us, helps us in times of trouble, gives us peace and the ability to approach him as our Father. We have a patient God who is willing to teach his children what it means to be changed from our sin and how to live a life pleasing to him – in a way that is constantly becoming more like his Son!

The evening I was saved, I remember sitting on our couch thinking about all these things. My parents were in the kitchen making stir-fry, I went up to my dad – tapped him on the elbow (I was tall, but not tall enough to reach his shoulder yet) and simply said “I’m ready. I’m ready to become a Christian”. My dad asked me a lot of questions about what I was thinking, and what I thought it meant to be a Christian. He brought out the Bible and taught me from His Word, then I prayed and asked to be forgiven of all my sins and be washed with his cleansing blood! I wanted to be as white as snow in His eyes and be His child forever.

At that moment all my guilt and sins were washed away! Not only was I clean and now PERFECT in God’s sight because of his Son – I was now a child of God! Now when God looks at me (as crazy as this sounds because I’m still as much of a sinner as I was when I was saved) he sees me as perfect, because he sees Christ who took the wrath I deserved for my sins.

The Bible speaks truth when it talks about a Savior and friend and comforter who never leaves us or forsakes us no matter what we do or where we go. I would say the biggest change that occurred when Christ saved me was my motivation and my desires, simply put– my heart! My heart was no longer focused on what pleased me – or what pleased my parents. My life took on a whole new focus – it was what pleases the Lord?! It may sound simple, but God in his patience & mercy changes us from the inside out – it’s the most dramatic/intense change of all. It is change that is permanent; it is change that affects every moment of everyday! My life is now dictated by His Word – how does the God who created everything including me want to be worshiped in my speech? In my thoughts about others? In my work ethic? In my relationships with other people? In my career choices? He not only changes us for His glory & our good, BUT he LOVES us along the way. With a love no human (apart from Jesus) has ever been able to demonstrate. It would be one thing to have a perfect & holy God see us as sinners and save us – but to give us a guide, comfort & love along the way is very gracious of our good God!

Feel free to comment or ask questions – I would be happy to share more about the love of God in my life – it is evident in every way!