Recently at my dentist’s office, I witnessed how the Lord made a new person out of me, and was asked if I had written about it. I realized that the writings on my blog had bits and pieces revealed in them, but that I had not written a post specifically about my experience. It seems my dental hygienist accomplished more than making sure that my teeth were in good condition:…. She got me to sink my teeth into doing what she suggested, so here is my testimony which I have also included on “My About The Author” page:

I was raised in a family that did not know the Lord, and I was not told by anyone that it was even possible to know Him. I was a proud, young woman who thought people who believed in God were fools until after my first husband left me with two children, 2 ½ and 1 ½ years old that I had to take care of. I had a crippling disease tormenting my body day and night, and was a mass of tears for weeks not knowing what to do as I was not able to work and all my family members lived far away. Finally, it was in my own living room that I cried out to the One I didn’t believe in: “God: HELP ME!” I screamed. Every ounce of my body, soul and mind was in that cry, and “Whoosh!” His presence was made known!

Never, never, NEVER had I felt anything so wonderful in all my 26 years of living. I went around telling everyone I knew and every stranger I met: “I found God! I found God!” When I shared my experience with a precious, white-haired neighbor who always greeted me with “Praise the Lord” (I had no clue what that meant,) she exclaimed with great joy in her voice: “That’s wonderful dear, but you must believe in Jesus to be saved!”

“What if I can’t?” I responded, believing that I had to do what she said. Strange, huh? But not so strange, because God was in it…. He leads us, and I was like ripened fruit ready to be picked.

“It’s a gift,” Maria explained, and then told me how God’s son, the Lord Jesus Christ, came to earth to die for our sins, along with other details about the plan of salvation. It was just like she said: One minute I didn’t believe, and the next moment I did. Truly, it was an undeserved gift and instantly, I experienced all my sins lift off me, and it was as if I had been carrying a ton of bricks miraculously taken away.

This spirit-filled neighbor and her husband, a born again, tongue-talking Jew, became like a mother and father to me. They were not part of an organized church, but Jake preached the Word in black churches in the south. God is really something in what He does, eh? Both Jake and Maria not only taught me the Word, but were there for me in times of trouble, and all of you who are reading this, know times of trouble and tribulation surely come. Since I had some major changes to make, they came full blast.

It was a hard test when the Lord let me know that I was not to depend upon my mother for financial aid, saying that HE was my provider and that depending on flesh was not His way. My mother was deeply offended when I told her that I could not take money from her. As my first husband was still in college when we married and then a teacher with a low-paying salary, she had helped with many of our needs, and my mom didn’t react well when I took this stand.

“We’ll see how He takes care of you!” she stormed, and praise God! She did get to see that I and her grandchildren had our needs met, never having to beg for help from anyone. God is good and He is faithful! Sadly, my relationship with my mother was strained for many years, but thankfully not severed. She became stricken with A.L.S. at the end of her life and was unable to talk, but she could write. When I stayed with her that last summer, my mama wrote on the blackboard: “I don’t know Jesus Christ, but I want to.” Hallelujah! She did get to know Him. Before she died, she was making the sign of the cross with those precious hands of hers that cradled me and took care of me all throughout my childhood years.

I am the firstborn believer in my family and several of them have gotten to know Him since. I am pressing in now by His grace to win the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus, even becoming more than a firstborn in a family, but a firstborn in the kingdom among other firstfruits of this age.

How blessed I feel I have been and am: How blessed it is to be called of Him: How blessed everyone is who has put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ! May God be praised and given the glory for all that we are:

We are HIS!