"This is a wonderful testimony from someone who belongs to one of the yahoo groups I belong to. " read on and be encouraged.
When my oldest son Bret was ten years old, he came down with a horrible case of mono. He was very sick for six weeks. I spent many nights awake just to make sure he was still breathing. Between the stress and the worry, I was mentally and physically drained. My husband, who was also keeping this vigil with me, saw that I was in need of a break and sent me off to WalMart with $20 dollars and specific instructions to enjoy a mini shopping spree. I spent about 30 minutes walking aimlessly around the store. And even though I LOVE to shop, I just felt like I was asleep on my feet and as lost as I could possibly be. About ready to give up and get back to my son, I stopped in the record department (technically CD Department, but I still refer to them as records!) and just happened to pick up a CD by a group called Point of Grace. I had never heard of them before, I hadn’t realized I was in the “Christian Music” section and I’m not even sure why I chose it, but I did. I put the music on in my minivan for the ride home and began to listen. By the second song, You Will Never Walk Alone, I was in tears. I realized at that moment that there was something huge missing in my life and I wanted to find it.
I spent the next few years haphazardly attending church (Episcopal at the time, although I was brought up Catholic), buying lots more CDs by Christian artists and spending tons of money on books on religion. I was searching and searching for God, but wasn’t feeling like I was finding Him. I knew I should be attending church, but every Sunday I would find another reason to stay home. My husband and children didn’t want to go with me and so I used that excuse to justify my not going either. I was enjoying the books I was reading, but started to feel guilty about the amount of money I was spending in the Christian book store. I was singing along with spiritual music, but as good as that made me feel, it still wasn’t the whole picture.
One summer morning, as I was driving into work I was scanning the radio for something to sing along to (I am a big fan of Car-eoke). I heard a few lines from a song I knew and zoned in on that station and started to sing along, “Let all God’s children sing out Glory Glory, Halleluiah, He reigns! He reigns! …” I don’t know when it hit me that this was Christian music, on my car radio – WOW! I soon found out that a brand new Christian radio station had joined the FM dial and was located in my own home town of Charlton! Well I quickly set the preset button on my radio and 90.1 WYCM became the soundtrack to all my car trips.
I became a fan of the morning show and would call in and request favorite songs. I got to know the station manager, Stephen Binley and eventually asked to volunteer at the station. I didn’t really have spare time to volunteer, but something drew me to the station. I would go and download songs into the computer (I confess that this may have been God’s way of using my Napster skills for a higher purpose). Stephen explained to me what it meant to accept the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ! Oh, it sounded wonderful, it sounded amazing, it sounded SCARY! I had all kinds of excuses why I couldn’t, wouldn’t, shouldn’t accept this amazing gift. I remember he described it as if I had just been given a beautifully gift wrapped present, but was afraid to rip the paper off! One thing that held me back, was the fear that my husband may think I had become a religious fanatic if I became a born again Christian. Every fear, excuse, or challenge I tossed at Stephen, he was able to answer with truth by opening his Bible. All at once it occurred to me that I’d spent a small fortune at the Christian book store when every thing I was truly searching for came in one neat and tidy package – The Bible (which, by the way I purchased for twenty-five cents at the Charlton Library!)
So now I was ready to accept the Lord! I was eager to invite the Holy Spirit into my heart to guide me. But I wasn’t sure I held faith that it was as simple as saying a tiny prayer. Remember, I was brought up in the Catholic faith. I needed a ceremony or at the very least a new outfit! But I realized that the Lord was asking me to come to Him EXACTLY as I was … and so I did.
I prayed the following, “Lord, I come to You knowing that I have sinned against You. Jesus, in Your Word you have taught me that You died in place of me as payment for my sins. I accept this perfect gift from You. I invite Your Holy Spirit to live in me, to guide me each and every day so that I can live my life for You and shine Your light to all the people in my life.”
… and that is how Jesus found me in WalMart.
