My Personal Testimony: Life is a Gift

Special thanks to Phyllis for inviting me to give my testimony on her blog Songs of Salvation! When she asked if I’d share, I realized that although you, my friends, get to know me through my stories and posts, I haven’t actually spelled out how and when God started working in my life. Today, my hope is that my testimony encourages you, wherever you are in your spiritual walk.

My testimony

I am truly grateful for my godly heritage and growing up in a Christian home, though an imperfect one. Regardless, my family’s faith wasn’t enough. I needed to make it mine.

One Sunday, something the pastor said must have made sense to my five-year-old mind. After coming home from church, I crawled onto the couch next to my parents and told them I wanted to get saved. They led me in a simple prayer, and I asked Jesus to forgive my sins and come into my life. That day, I started my walk as God’s child, but like any new believer, I had much to learn (and for that matter, still do).

A crisis moment came shortly after I received my driver’s license. I was driving my brother and me to our young adult Wednesday church group when another car ran a red light and crashed into us. Although we walked away with only minor injuries, my car was totaled, and I was angry. Why would God let this happen to me? The ensuing drama (the other driver’s word versus mine) and the long phone calls with insurance agents were torture to my sixteen-year-old self.

But God had spared my life. The same day as my accident, another accident almost identical in nature resulted in the deaths of all drivers. Perhaps it was a wake-up call that life wasn’t about my plans. I needed to see it as a stewardship, a gift from God.

Looking back over college and the start of my career, I can see God’s hand opening and closing doors. Sometimes, I begged for a new opportunity or an answer to prayer, and God seemed stubbornly silent. Other times, His response felt as if He had opened the windows of heaven and poured down a blessing. What I’ve learned and continue to learn is that regardless of how or if God answers my prayer, He has my best interests at heart and I can trust Him.

One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 40:31 which says,

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (KJV).

In my own strength, I get tired and weary. But when I wait upon the Lord, He provides the strength to run the path set before me.

The bottom line: No matter what you may be facing now, if you’re God’s child, you’re not alone. He can and will give you exactly what you need: His presence in every situation.

~ Kristen