I Once was Lost...

My Personal Testimony

Today I'd like to tell the story of how I came to know The Lord. Some of you may have read my story in tract form (I hand it out regularly), but there is more to it than what I could feasibly put into a tri-fold 8.5x11. ;) 

I have been in a strong Christian home since I was born. I have heard The Bible preached, taught and sang since I was old enough to understand anything. Christianity has been ingrained into my very being for as long as I can remember! I am so thankful for this early teaching, and for the way my parents raised me. However, being a pastor's daughter and all, I put on a show for a long time. I looked like a really good kid on the outside...I mean, that's what I'm supposed to be, right? A model child! :) I was so, so far from truly being "good" on the inside, though. As a child, I made several false professions of faith, usually just so I would have something to say when someone asked the question, "So how did you get saved?". I knew deep down that it wasn't real. 

In fall of 2006, my family and I went to a tent meeting, where a very fiery preacher preached a message about Hell. Oh my GOODNESS... I was terrified out of my mind that night. I almost let go of my pride and talked to my mom, (who I later found out had been praying hard for me through that message). At the last possible second, I changed my mind and pushed away my conviction. For the next 6 months, I had the most horrible time of my entire life up to that point. I would stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning, terrified that I would die in the night and wake up in hell. I KNEW that I was not saved, yet I just would not take care of it!

During this time, a church member who I greatly looked up to passed away in his sleep. No apparent reason, he just didn't wake up one morning. I knew that he was in heaven, but that event certainly did not help my peace of mind!! I was having horrible nightmares, I was depressed and fearful, and as a result, my school grades were failing. I began to cheat nearly every day, and of course that led to lying in order to cover it up. I was under SO much conviction during this time!

Things were getting about as bad as they could be, until one day, (March 14, 2007 to be exact ;), my parents stayed up late checking my school over. Up to this point, they had trusted me with grading my own work for the most part. That night, they found out about the complete hole I had dug myself into. At around 1 in the morning, they woke me up and confronted me about my sin. I don't remember our entire conversation, but finally, for the first time, I saw it for what it was: I was sinning against a holy, righteous God! He had laid out a law in His Word, (The 10 Commandments), and I had broken every single one of them. James 2:10 says, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." I had lied, stolen, dishonored my parents and God, and that sin was exactly what I was on my way to hell for. I had heard the salvation story a thousand times: We broke God's law, Jesus Christ came to earth to 'pay our fine' so to speak. The wages of sin is death, so to pay for our sin, Jesus had to die! All that He was asking me to do was turn away from my sin and towards Him in faith, believing that he could and would save me! That night, I finally let go of my pathetic excuses, my pride, and stubbornness, and asked God to save my soul. And you know what? ALL of that time that I spent fighting was completely useless. Somehow I thought that giving myself to God would be incredibly difficult. And it was--it was both the hardest and the easiest decision I have ever made in my life. There are not words in any language bright or beautiful enough to describe the glory of a lost sheep coming at last into The Good Shepherd's fold. The Bible says that there is rejoicing in heaven at such a time. What rejoicing that must be! Thousands of thousands of angels praising God together has got to be pretty spectacular! 

Ever since that day in 2007, my life has been irrevocably changed. My focus, desires, and interests have all been heavily influenced by my faith in Jesus Christ. The faith that had been my parents' finally became my own. Christianity is the only faith that you cannot be born into...every person must make the decision of their own accord. If you are reading this, and have never turned to Christ for salvation, I beg you to seriously consider your soul. We are never guaranteed tomorrow! Your eternal destiny is way, way too important to mess around with. You need to KNOW where you will be when you walk out of this life. And you can! 1 John 5:13 "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." Please think carefully about this; you may not have another chance. I can promise you with everything in me: you will never, ever regret it. Thank you for bearing with a long post today...this is truly the most important thing in my life, so I don't think it's something to be cut down! :) I am SO thankful for what God has done for me!!! I hope my story is a blessing to you as well. 
Mykaela