Thank you for joining us on the first Testimony Tour. We are excited to share with you our stories of ‘How we came to know Jesus.’ You can continue with the tour by joining Natalie from Milk and Honey Faith here.
How God Saved Me…
At twenty-one years old I was married with two young children. That was a year that not knowing Jesus was probably when I needed to know Him the most.
My new marriage was based off of a faith that was created by man. I had married a man as part of an ultimatum. In exchange to finally let our almost two year engagement come to an end, he would end the partying lifestyle.
I was fearful, emotional, and mentally exhausted. A forceful wall of anger was being built around me to guard me from emotions I never felt before but there was still an inkblot of hope inside of me. My hurt never turned to pain or hate (although with the years of hurt I had already bared in the relationship, my friends at the time thought it should have); instead my hurt sat there in a puddle of tears that was always brought upon by the pleading for change. Change that I felt was possible. Change that I believed could be at any moment.
After three years of marriage and going on to the fifth year of broken promises; I was on a constant rollercoaster of emotions and fears. Due to the exhaustion of it all my hope turned into a fierce warrior. There was no more time to sit in a puddle. It was time for a change.
I had no idea how to change it all.
I just knew it wasn’t a matter of taking control at this point. It was a matter of knowing it had to be me to start a change. Me just sitting there in hope was not effective.
Shock came to my family when after years of declining invitations to church services and bible study groups finally turned to a “Yes, what time does it start?” came out of my mouth. I remember my sister not knowing how to even respond at that point. It was the first time my tone was not of annoyance saying, “Just stop asking already!”
Due to pride and fear of strangers recognizing my unstable marriage, I was not ready to attend to a church service yet so instead I attended a bible study class called ‘Freedom’. The Freedom class with lead by two ministers that had been married for close to twenty years. Their testimony of restoring after addictions brought passion to lead a small group to teach that there is freedom and restoration from any form of addiction.
Attending the class was meant to be because…
In secret, I was dealing with a spouse that dealt with addictions in many forms.
I had figured out an entire plan in my head. I was going to understand every bit of emotion my husband was dealing with by listening to every person in the class as they expressed their journey of addiction. My intention was to learn how to become a wife that could help him with compassion. At that moment I believed God was on my side for the first time. I began to believe God had led me to a class that could help my husband and make him all better.
But God is a humorous God.
After 6 weeks of attending the bible study, I gave my life to Christ in a class titled ‘Freedom’.
I was no longer walking into the classroom with a plotted plan to save my husband and marriage. I sat through each class listening attentively to every member expressing their journey of becoming free from addictions. Some stated it started early in their childhood, or how it left them homeless without a family. Their passion of knowing that Jesus was still their center, their healer, redeemer, and restorer was remarkable to me.
Their desire to stay free and follow a man named Jesus began to rub off on me. I wanted to walk into a room with a smile just as they all did every week. Their confidence and eagerness to return to class with testimonies about how forgiveness was developing in their lives was intriguing me into their new lifestyle.
I was desiring to be saved. Redeemed. Free and restored just like them.
Eight years ago in the ‘Freedom’ class I stood up from my chair to say the salvation prayer. I have been following Him since. Best decision I ever made.
My prayer for you as a reader is that as you follow the Testimony Tour, your love for Christ ignites. If you have not yet received Jesus as your Savior, I pray that you find hope and passion in the upcoming posts that will lead you to the arms of Jesus.
May the writings that you read in this upcoming week show you that Jesus is our redeemer. He is our comforter, healer, and peacemaker. He will restore and love unconditionally.
I pray that you take this scripture to lead you into a prayer of salvation.
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. Romans 10:9-10 NIV
You may continue with the Testimony Tour here by visiting Lori Schumaker at Searching for Moments.
To visit the rest of the Tour, click the links below!
Milk and Honey Faith – Married By His Grace
Searching For Moments – Seeking God with Jaime Wiebel
Friends With God – Flourishing Today
Hey Carmen! I took a bit of the testimony tour and now I’m back to comment! love what you’ve shared here. So interesting that you and I have some things in common. You married and then came to God with your struggles. I was a Christian married to a Christian and we struggled! But even before I married it was the crushing reality of life that brought me to Christ. Funny how we all have different lives, but share similar struggles. FREEDOM: I’m still thinking about that Bible study you attended for 8 years and then met God. What a blessing!
Love,
Tiffiney
Hi Carmen,
I learned of your testimony tour through Valerie. When I discovered that something like this was happening, I was completely elated! How refreshing! If you ever do this again, I would love for your and Natalie to consider me for inclusion. Below is a link to my testimony just in case you’d like to read it. (Reading my testimony would be like taking a walk off the beaten path {tour}. How funny!)
Blessings,
Tiffiney
http://welcomehomeministry.com/featured/tiffineys-salvation-testimony/
Beautiful testimony Carmen. It is so refreshing to read such intimate stories, ones that we can “feel” along with you, and celebrate the ending!
Thank you Christa for celebrating the Testimony Tour with us!
I love how God’s plan often includes our stubbornness and lots of broken. Thanks for sharing your story.
Thank you for visiting and commenting Jerusha!!
Praise the Lord for freedom and His humorous ways of changing our plans for the better! Thanks for sharing!
Amen for God’s humor!! Love His changes, it’s always for the best!
Carmen, thank you for sharing your testimony. I love how God knows exactly what we need and faithfully works toward getting us to that point. What a wonderful blessing to find freedom through the testimony of others. I can’t wait to read more stories and see how God will use them to touch lives and bring freedom. God bless you!
So glad to see you visit Deb and visiting the tour. You are a blessing to many through your writings of encouragement. God is so good to gracefully give freedom to us!
Praising God for the story He is writing for you! A story that has lead you to a place of encouraging and cheering on so many others as they seek to follow Him! You are a gift and your testimony points so brilliantly toward a loving Savior. The only One who can do more than we can ever imagine!
Hugs, my friend ♥
Lori
Thank you Lori. The Lord has definitely done more than I could ever imagine. He is a healer and redeemer. I am grateful for Him everyday!!
Hey Carmen,
Thank you so much for sharing your testimony. I find it humbling and awesome how God can shine in the darkest chapters of our testimonies.
I appreciate your sharing.
Thank you Na’omi for reading and commenting! God is the light in our darkness! =)
Carmen I just love reading about how the Lord saved you. To think that it all began with something heartbreaking and tragic but O sweet sister, those tears weren’t in vain. Look at the glorious things He is doing through you! It is phenomenal how He works everything for our good. You’re such a blessing to me!
Thank you sister for your love and support always!!
Wow, Carmen. I love that you went into that class intending to fix just one part of your life but ending up handing the whole thing over to Jesus. What a powerful testimony to His grace and goodness that simply captures our hearts. Thank you for sharing with us, and I’m so glad to be joining you on this incredible tour. Hugs!
Tiffany, God always makes me laugh. When ever I think about how He saved me in a Freedom class, I giggle to myself. Coincidence that happened, I think not. lol I am excited to see your post go live this week!! You story will bless many!! Hugs!
I love how you stood up and gave your life to Christ in a Freedom study! God is so good to set us free and guide our path as we learn to walk in faith. Your faith and love for the Lord always shines through your writing!
Thank you Valerie! I love you sis! I am blessed by your words and friendship! I am also excited for your part in the Testimony Tour. It is amazing to watch what God is doing!! =)
This was just fabulous, Carmen. Thank you for openly sharing your testimony. I am so glad that you came to know FREEDOM. You are changing lives, and giving so many the tools to find the freedom that we all need to find in Jesus. I cannot wait to read more testimonies!!!
You are too sweet to me Erika! Your words are such a blessing to me. I am soooo glad I came to know Freedom too!!! I am so blessed and in awe of His glory everyday! God is good!
Thank you so much for sharing. God is truly in the business of saving us from ourselves. I thank God for the decision that you made for him several years ago. Your passion for Christ resounds in your writing. God bless you my sister.
Thank you so much Tania for your kind words. I am so blessed by them! Thank you for visiting the Testimony Tour and commenting!!
So amazing! God is so amazing. He puts us where we need to be so we can clearly see Him! What a beautiful story of redemption! So happy to be here today! I love love love testimonies and this is just getting started! I am so excited to read everyone’s posts!
Yay! So excited you came and visited today Jamie. I am excited to see everyone’s this week. It has been so awesome watching God unfold all of this the past few months.