Testimony

Timothy 1:8

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁸ So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News.

Yesterday, a person asked me for the first time in a long time if I would share my testimony with him. For me, hearing that question was almost strange, for I don't think it is asked very often, at least not at my church. Most people who were my youth group would probably say, "I don't have a testimony because I was raised Christian." Many people are under the impression that a testimony is a coming to Christ story, and if they don't remember when they became Christian, how can they have a testimony?

A testimony, however, is really just the story of how you got to the point where you are in your faith. I would go out on a limb and say just about every strong Christian has gone through some sort of hardship in his or her life. If God helped you through it, and you became a stronger person for it, I'd say that sounds like a great testimony. In 2 Timothy 1:8, Paul is clear that telling your testimony and telling others about our Lord isn't always easy, but it's important. Even when Paul is thrown into prison for his beliefs, he still won't be quiet about what Jesus has done in his life.  I'm not quite as brave as Paul, but I am going to put myself out there with this post and share my testimony to the best of my ability with you all.

First off, I was actually raised Christian. When my parents filed for divorce, though, my dad was pretty unstable. He wasn't dangerous or anything, but since my mom didn't want my sisters and I to see him like that, she sent us off to stay with my Sunday school teacher for a while. That summer, I grew really close to God. Since I basically lived with my Sunday school teacher, I had a lot of spiritual and emotional support. I was very young, but I became spiritually mature. I remember doing things like setting up a Vacation Bible School (VBS) at my house by myself (as a 5th grader) for all of the girls that I knew, just because I was passionate about that.

After the divorce, however, my pastor said some pretty offensive things to my mom about the whole situation, so we stopped going to church. For three years, I didn't have a church family. I ended up moving from Michigan to West Virginia for my mom's job, and I sort of hit rock bottom. I was two states away from all of my friends, I didn't really think about God much, and I wasn't getting along with my mom. I genuinely felt lonely. After a few months, though, we found a church.

That church really became a second home for me. I started going to the youth group, and I genuinely loved being involved in any way I could be. After a few years, my youth pastor recommended that I spend a summer working at the Christian camp that my church helps support. I did end up working at that camp, but afterward, I felt distracted from my relationship with God, and the only way I could think to fix that was to immerse myself completely into my faith.

Since that decision, I've started digging deeper, asking questions, and trying to discover for myself who God is. I went on my first mission trip last summer to a small village in Alaska, and I'd like to go on many more. I've also found that Christian concerts are so encouraging! (And fun!) I'm not a perfect Christian by any means, I make mistakes, and life still gets pretty rough sometimes, but I'm starting to see that passionate little 5th grade spirit (who put on a VBS at her home) come back to me. It's refreshing to see God working in my life through my weaknesses to fulfill his purposes. I look forward to see what all he has in store for me.

All testimonies are unique, but they all have a common denominator: they are encouraging messages of faith.  Personally, I would love to hear a testimony from each person who reads this, so if you are feeling brave, please please please feel free to leave your story in the comments section below, either signed or anonymous. However, if you aren't ready to post it for the world to see, I'd still like to hear your story. Feel free to email me at collegevespers@gmail.com with your testimony, and I'll keep it completely confidential.

God Bless

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