My Testimony – by Pearl
Silver Jubilee year, 1977, was special for me , because for most of it I was pregnant with a child I thought I’d never have.
Like most women I worried a bit about whether he would be alright and how he would grow up; and Ray and I used to pray each night about our unborn baby; that he would be healthy and that he would grow up to be a good Christian.
Neither of us went to church in those days although we both considered ourselves to be Christian because we had been Christened and gone to Sunday school as children, so naturally we talked about having our son Christened because we both thought it was the right thing for Christian parents to do.
When the time came to go and see the vicar about it, I was terrified because I had been divorced and felt that I was condemned by God forever. I thought I would get out of it by letting Ray go to the vicarage, to make the arrangements, on his own.
I didn’t get out of it so easily though, because the vicar came round to see us. He was so nice and talked to us about Jesus and left us a little book called ‘Journey Into Life’. The next day I read that book and it made me realize that whatever I had done, God loved me and wanted to forgive me.
There and then I said the prayer in the back of the booklet, repenting my sin and asking Jesus to forgive me and come into my life. Till then I had always thought I was a Christian because I had gone to Sunday School as a child and been confirmed as well.
When I stood up in church on the Sunday of the Christening, 18th December 1977, and John asked “Do you turn to Christ, do you repent of your sin, do you renounce evil?” I really and truly meant it when I replied “I turn to Christ, I repent of my sins, I renounce evil”. And that, for me, was the turning point. I was born again. I was made new, born again.
Of course, like any new-born baby, I didn’t know much about it at the time; but babies grow and from that day I began to experience a gradual, deepening awareness of the true meaning of life and of Jesus as a real person. The sky was bluer, I took more notice of the beauty of creation and had a spring in my step that I’d never had before.
I came to know God as a father. Just like a baby begins to recognise his parents, so I began to recognise God and to love him deeply; to know that even when things were far form easy he was there for me.
I was forgiven; my life had a new meaning. I had always suffered with my ‘nerves’ and was taking valium even during my pregnancy, but since the day I turned to Christ I have never had another. He has given me real peace of mind and contentment.
Almost forty five years later I can look back on my life and see the way God has guided me at every turn. I can see the way my faith has grown. I can see the answered prayers and healings and know absolutely that I am in the hands of the living God. My life changed for the better when I asked Jesus into it and I face the future with certainty and hope because of him.
Silver Jubilee year, 1977, was special for me , because for most of it I was pregnant with a child I thought I’d never have.
Like most women I worried a bit about whether he would be alright and how he would grow up; and Ray and I used to pray each night about our unborn baby; that he would be healthy and that he would grow up to be a good Christian.
Neither of us went to church in those days although we both considered ourselves to be Christian because we had been Christened and gone to Sunday school as children, so naturally we talked about having our son Christened because we both thought it was the right thing for Christian parents to do.
When the time came to go and see the vicar about it, I was terrified because I had been divorced and felt that I was condemned by God forever. I thought I would get out of it by letting Ray go to the vicarage, to make the arrangements, on his own.
I didn’t get out of it so easily though, because the vicar came round to see us. He was so nice and talked to us about Jesus and left us a little book called ‘Journey Into Life’. The next day I read that book and it made me realize that whatever I had done, God loved me and wanted to forgive me.
There and then I said the prayer in the back of the booklet, repenting my sin and asking Jesus to forgive me and come into my life. Till then I had always thought I was a Christian because I had gone to Sunday School as a child and been confirmed as well.
When I stood up in church on the Sunday of the Christening, 18th December 1977, and John asked “Do you turn to Christ, do you repent of your sin, do you renounce evil?” I really and truly meant it when I replied “I turn to Christ, I repent of my sins, I renounce evil”. And that, for me, was the turning point. I was born again. I was made new, born again.
Of course, like any new-born baby, I didn’t know much about it at the time; but babies grow and from that day I began to experience a gradual, deepening awareness of the true meaning of life and of Jesus as a real person. The sky was bluer, I took more notice of the beauty of creation and had a spring in my step that I’d never had before.
I came to know God as a father. Just like a baby begins to recognise his parents, so I began to recognise God and to love him deeply; to know that even when things were far form easy he was there for me.
I was forgiven; my life had a new meaning. I had always suffered with my ‘nerves’ and was taking valium even during my pregnancy, but since the day I turned to Christ I have never had another. He has given me real peace of mind and contentment.
Almost forty five years later I can look back on my life and see the way God has guided me at every turn. I can see the way my faith has grown. I can see the answered prayers and healings and know absolutely that I am in the hands of the living God. My life changed for the better when I asked Jesus into it and I face the future with certainty and hope because of him.
