I asked my friend, Sandie, if she would share her testimony
with you, and she very graciously agreed. God has done and is going
to do many things through her!!! She's a very special lady.The day I got saved was Sunday May 15th 1994,a day I will never forget.Getting saved was not what I had planned for that day.
I knew that I was going to have to go to church that Sunday even though
I didnt want to. I hadn't been to church for years, but mom had promised
my little sister Andie,that when her dad came home, (HE WAS IN PRISON)
that mom and I would start going to church with her. Andie never
missed church. At that time Andie was 15 and had been going to the
same church since she was about 5. So he had come home the week before, so Andie made mom
keep the promise that we would go to church with her, and boy, was I mad,
and I had the worst temper. It was not safe to get me mad. So all
day I was grumbling and complaining about having to go to church that night
and having to keep a promise that I didnt even make. I felt it was very
unfair of mom to make a promise for me that I didnt want to keep. As the
time got closer to go, I tried to come up with all these excuses for not
going . I had laundry to do and dinner to fix and all kinds of stuff to
do, but none of my excuses worked. I still had to go, so grumbling
and complaining, I went. So, I made up my mind that when this was over with, I
wasnot going back again, nobody was going to tell me what to do.I was very stubborn and bad tempered back then. Anyway, the service began.I stood during praise and worship.I didnt take part, but I stood there.Then there was prayer.Then as I looked at my watch every five minutes thinking,
"This has got to be over soon, " the preaching started. All through
it I kept looking at my watch every five minutes,and hoping it would be
over soon.Finally it was time for the closing prayer, and I thought, "Good,
finally, this is going to be over. Now I have to go home and do all
kinds of things that I could have been doing instead of sitting here." The pastor asked everybody to bow their heads and close
their eyes. He started talking about sin and Jesus dying on the cross
and about salavation and I knew what was coming next, but I had already
made up my mind that I was not going to go up there and get saved.Sure enough, the next thing he said was,"Is there anyone here that would like to give their life
to the Lord?" He went on, and it was a very small church - maybe
30 people were there. I knew he knew them all and he knew they had
been in the church for a long time. Mom and I were the only
newcomers there. Mom had gotten saved there a few years back, so
I knew he was talking to me, but I had made up my mindalready. He started saying," all you have to do is just
raise your hand. That"s all, just raise your hand we can pray right where
you are." But I wasn't going to do it. Then all of a sudden, I just felt this presence beside
me.I looked to see if it was the pastor, but he was at the front
of the church. My sister was on one side of me and my mom was on
the other side in her wheelchair, but none of us were sitting that close
to each other.I still felt this presence. It felt so calm and peaceful.It felt like love was standing beside me. It's hard to
exeplain.I felt my heart soften, and I started to raise my hand.But then I put it back down and I just heard thisvoice say, "Here, let me help you," and I put my hand up.It was like someone was holding my hand, and I just felt more
loved in that moment than I ever had in my life.It was awesome, so I stood up.My little sister was at the front of the church with the pastor.She wasnt even beside me like I thought she was. When I stood
up, the pastor came over to me and asked if I wanted to give my life to
the Lord. All I could do was cry and nod myhead yes.So I went to the front of the church, and there between my sister
and the pastor, I prayed the sinner's prayer.From that moment on I never felt the same.I felt just like a heavy weight had been lifted off me.I felt brand new.Every thing was totally different. I can remember thinking on the way home about all the
things I had complained about having to do before we went to church and
how I would have all that waiting for me when I got home.I was thinking that none of that really matters.I was saying to mom and Andie how the whole world just looked
different.I felt like a brand new person, and all that really mattered
was what happened in church tonight, where I would go from there,
and the Lord has made so many changes in me and in my life.Even though I have let myself get away from where the Lord wants
to lead me and what He has planned for me, I just can't wait to get back
to where I should be!If you want to experience what Sandie and so many others
have discovered, we can show you how! It will truly change your life-
come on in and learn how:click
here
If you have any questions, or want further resources, please
email me!