Saturday, May 21st is the 16th anniversary of my Salvation. In honor of this very special day, I want to tell you all the story of how my relationship with Jesus all started…
As I child I knew that I loved God. I grew up in home with Bible verses taped on the windows and on the back of doors, scripture read in the morning and most nights. Spiritual things were commonplace in our house. My ears were filled with verses from the Bible and prayer as soon as they exited my mother’s womb. I even memorized the whole of Psalm 23 as a 2 year old and made up songs about ‘Jesus coming down’ at 4 or 5.
Even though I knew that I loved God, I didn’t know Him.
One evening I was singing as I swung on my new swing-set from my Dad. I was singing a song I learned in Sunday School about telling the Devil to leave me alone because he had no power over me. My mom overheard me and said, “Jenny, you shouldn’t sing that. You don’t have that kind of power because you don’t know Jesus yet.” However, I did what most 6 year old kids do – I ignored my Mom and kept singing and swinging. As darkness fell, I was taken back to something that had happened earlier that day….
“Jenny Bubbles (that was my dad’s nickname for me), Go put your money in your piggy bank.” My Dad instructed.
“Yes Daddy!” I said without any intentions of obedience.
I stuffed my money in my beloved doll house and ran outside to play.
In that moment I realized what sin was and that I was a sinner. Fear gripped my little heart as I thought of what might happen to me if I was to die on my swing-set. I knew the answer – Hell. I had always known these things, but in this moment I really knew them. I had not a moment to lose, so I ran in the house and knelt behind my doll house – the very place I had hidden my disobedience.
I can’t tell you exactly the words I prayed, if I folded my hands or said “Dear Jesus”. But I can tell you this, I can remember that moment in time like it was yesterday. As a little 6 year old girl, I came face to face with my need for Jesus…I came face to face with Jesus. I realized what He did through his sacrifice on the cross, I realized why He came to earth, and I realized exactly what I needed to do. I told Him that I needed Him to forgive me, that I wanted Him to take over my life so that I could have Him and be with Him after my life on earth came to an end. This may seem foolish to you, but I was changed after that moment. I remember running into the kitchen to find my parents. I was so overcome with joy that I could hardly speak! My parents were quite astonished that this had occurred and promptly took me into their room to make sure I understood what I was talking about. Somehow everything that I had been taught made sense in a new way.
"I'm a new woman now!" I said to my parents with elation. "The old Jenny is gone and now I'm a new Jenny"Ever since that day, I have never doubted that I now belonged to Jesus. Sure, there have been lots of times that I have struggled, especially in high school. But no one ever said that it is easy to follow Christ. I've made mistakes, and I haven't always been completly devoted to the Lord, nor will I ever be. However, knowing God is the most amazing thing. I wish I could explain it in words, but I can't even grasp it fully myself. I am just in awe that the Creator even cares about knowing me! It really is a crazy kind of love!
This is one of my life verses:
"But I count my life as no value to myself,
so that I may finish my course with joy
and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus,
to testify to the gospel of God's grace."
~ Acts 20:24
What is your experience with Jesus? Is faith in Him even on your radar? I'd love to hear!
22 comments:
I love how you wrote this, Jenny. We have very similar stories. Mt father is a minister, so I grew up with it since birth...but it was still a decision I had to make on my own. I remember sitting on my bed at 7 years old and asking Jesus into my heart. Like you, I have never doubted and never looked back. My walk with Him is daily and I TRULY cannot imagine what it is like to live in this world without Him (nor would I want to).
I got chills reading your story...that's the Holy Spirit. ;)
Sophisticated Steps
And here's the perfectionist in me...um...that should be MY father, not Mt. (Ugh!) Lol.
Sophisticated Steps
What a sweet story JJ. I know I gave my life to Christ as a little kid but never really grasped the meaning until I was older. I was the same as you throughout the years, was in and out of being devoted to Him and it wasn't until I was an adult that I finally realized the importance of fully living for Him.
And even, it wasn't until the past 3 years that I actually was eagerly seeking after Him and the benefits I've seen have been amazing.
He's been a huge part of my life, especially in the past 10 months of personal struggle + even MORE in the past 5 w/my finances.
He's amazing and I love that He loves me enough to send His Son let alone want a relationship w/me.
I'm blessed to be born into a Christian family, but I wasn't very close with God. I went to church because my parents went to church. Unfortunately, my dad made our family go to a cult disguised as a church (which we didn't know at the time). I didn't understand why we had to do this routine everyday so I turned away and my relationship with God went down the drain. I blamed everything on Him because we had SO many problems and it stressed me out to the max (I'm the oldest so I tend to think about these things..oldest sibling complex haha), which resulted in health problems.
So, my parents sent me to Korea to my relatives to relax and work on getting healthy again. My mom's side of the family is Catholic and they told me that I should be Catholic so I became Catholic during the year I was in Korea.
I came back home and my brothers told me to go to church with them. I was very uncomfortable at first, but I talked with my pastor and she helped me get some healing. That really opened my eyes and my heart to God and Jesus again and we're closer than ever before! I trust Him more and I have no worries in my life because He's right here with me.
Now, I'm at a church where I can serve God and His people.
and I'm SO in love with God.
Thanks for sharing your story!
God bless! <3
I grew up in a Christian home. When I was 11 my Granny passed away after a 9-year battle with cancer. At the end of the summer my church always went to camp for the last week before school started. The last night of camp on the mountaintop at the bonfire I felt an overwhelming sensation. My Granny showed me to live life to the fullest, but I knew I could not do that without Jesus. I was overcome with a need for Him and I accepted Christ that night by the fire. I was baptized 5 years later after a mission trip where I learned that you can't just talk the talk, but you have to walk the walk. I am so blessed to have had that church as a child and teenager.
Thanks for sharing your story, friend! I met Jesus in high school & I do high school ministry, so it's always wonderful to hear about different ways the Lord works.
LOVE.
I really appreciate the notion of teaching children about God young. i would never be where I am today if my parents didn't encourage christian values on me growing up!
Girl, thats amazing! I hope my little girls can really, really come to know our Lord Jesus at a very young age like you! Thats awesome! I love it! Thanks for sharing your story!
* to actually know the true meaning if salvaion at a young age!
I loved reading your testimony, Jenny!
That's a really good verse, too!
My salvation story goes like this...When I was three years old, my mom prayed the prayer of salvation with me and I accepted Jesus as my Savior, but I didn't follow Him until I was 11, when I recommitted my life to Jesus Christ. Before then I was living in sin and I didn't care. I remember stealing a Fanta Orange pop from a pop machine at age 6 and blaming my three year-old brother. That was such a sinful, cruel act and I realized that but I didn't have any desire to please God until age 11. When I was 13, 14, and 15, I struggled with committing a few of the same sins over and over again. It was only by God's power that I overcame them. In the summer before my 10th grade year of high school, I completed the Brio challenge by Brio magazine (a Focus on the Family publication). It was a challenging experience, but I grew closer to God as I read through Psalms and Proverbs and kept a prayer journal. The challenge also required me to exercise three times a week and read several books, including one my C.S. Lewis. Although there were times when I wanted to quit, I'm glad I persevered because it taught me to be more committed to my relationship with Christ and I understood the power of prayer much better after I had completed the challenge. When I was 16 and my family went on furlough to the States, I was overwhelmed by the large amount of obese people I saw, so I became obsessed with my weight and ate much less than what was healthy for me. In just a few short months I lost 10 pounds and finally my parents became concerned after about 9 months and encouraged me to gain back the weight I had lost. Through the process I learned that I need to love people regardless of what they look like or weigh, because it's the heart that matters. In my first year of college at Cedarville University, God has taught me to surrender everything to Him. It certainly hasn't been easy, especially being thousands of miles away from my family, but God has been faithful and he's taught me that he's all I need. That is my testimony up to this point in my life.
Love in Christ,
Jessica
I loved reading your story! So encouraging to hear how your faith in Christ began. :) My story is kind of a longer one, though it can be summed up fairly quickly if I skip some details. Both of my parents are Christians, though my dad's family are not beyond him. I grew up in church, even went to school at my small church for the first four years of my education. I have a vague memory of myself praying when I was quite young- four or five. Around age eight I prayed again, "just in case" the memory I remembered wasn't real. I truly believed in Christ and knew of my sin. The details were just fuzzy for me (I have an awful memory of my younger years, even now.) When I was twelve I felt called to be baptized as my profession of faith. I had to take a class at my church before they would let me do so and be a member, but because of my age I was grouped with the adults. I was the only child in the room, and at that age I was terribly shy. We were taken in groups to share our testimonies. Apparently my story wasn't up to par, because the deacon I was grouped with pulled me aside after and told me he didn't think I was saved. (Mainly this suspicion on his part seemed to be because I hadn't walked an aisle at church or prayed with an adult in my life to come to a saving knowledge of Christ.) From that point until I was about fourteen years old, I struggled with my faith. I had believed the deacon's words, at least in part, and suddenly I was terrified that my faith wasn't real because an adult in the church didn't believe me. I was baptized anyway, but off and on I would cry out to God, wondering if I'd really meant it when I asked Jesus to be Lord... wondering if somehow I'd done something wrong so that it didn't count. I was afraid to speak to anyone about it, and dealt with it solely between myself and God... journaling about it, praying late at night o the bathroom floor... Eventually, through many people and situations that God brought into my life, I KNEW I was His. The journey since then has been one of valleys and deserts, hope and joy... He's been faithful through it all. These days my faith is growing through much seeking of Him and my prayer is that I would love and honor Him more every day.
Wow, what a great story - thanks for sharing!
Linked to you today!!! (Not a problem, is it?) Promise I said all kinds of great stuff. Oh, yeah! You make my blog look goooood! Lol. No. Really. ;)
Sophisticated Steps
beautiful!
Emily
P.S. - Don't forget to enter the necklace giveaway on my blog!!
texasnj.dayeightmedia.com
praise the lord. but really, i'm praising the lord for you and your salvation.
loved reading your testimony :) mine is similar, in that i invited jesus into my heart around 5 or so one Sunday after church. i thought everyone did. it was the rule-follower in me, i think, doing what i should do. in high school, at 16, after living half in and half out, i made the decision to be all in, no looking back. i can't believe that was 20 years ago, now! i'm 36 and have to say that up until about 3 years ago, when He brought me to my knees during a sad time in my life, i never truly knew what it meant to love him more than anything. the way he met me and held me and spoke to me changed me forever. i'm His bride, friend, daughter, and disciple, and i wouldn't trade that hard season for anything.
That was really beautiful. To remember these moments is a gift, isn't it? Thank you for sharing!
just found your blog and i loves it! what a wonderful salvation story! you are just the cutest. xo
That is a sweet story, thank you for sharing that testimony.
I feel that children are in tune to the Spirit of God, and, like you at such a young age, there are many children that can and DO have a strong testimony of Jesus Christ. It has much to do with the values and teachings they have as a child.
I believe that testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ comes gradually and that we must be working out our salvation before God for our entire lifetime. I don't think I have ever had an "Ah-ha" moment. But I do I feel that I have always known that God loves each one of us, me included and he knows each one of us individually. I know that God wants us to return to Him and that Jesus Christ suffered and sacrificed his life so that we can continually repent of our sins and be able to return to be with our Father in Heaven.
What a sweet salvation story! I love that you made the decision all on your own next to your doll house. :-)
I have no words.
just beautiful.
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