Tomorrow we are having a sunrise service at the home of one of our church members. The wife is an avid gardener and has a beautiful garden of all types of flowers and plants. Although spring hasn't quite sprung here yet, it will still be a fabulous way to greet the day on Resurrection Sunday! Although I probably won't make it with the three kids, I know it will be great for all who attend. The sunrise service will be followed by a yummy breakfast at church, which will then be followed by our Sunday morning service. The focus of the service will be simple - the Gospel. That's what Easter is all about, really! We are going to have more special music than normal, more singing, and several people are giving their salvation testimony. One of those people is yours truly. My pastor (aka - my husband! haha!) asked me a week or two ago if I would share my testimony since most of the people have not "officially" heard it yet. So, in preparation for that, I decided to put it here in our blog, since I don't think I have ever done so! And without further ado, here is my story of my salvation.
I had the great privilege of being born into a Christian home. I was in church at just a few weeks old and have been ever since. We were always in church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, revival meetings, etc. So pretty much from the moment I was born I have been taught the Gospel. In fact, many of the Bible stories and verses that I know so well I cannot even remember being taught. Its almost as if I have just always known them! So, I have always known that God loves me, that He died for me, and that I was a sinner. I have never doubted that for one second.
It wasn't until I was about six years old that things really started to click in my brain about how I could apply all that I was taught to my life personally. I can remember it was in the spring time of 1988 and it was a Saturday night. I had just taken my bath and was in bed trying to fall asleep. As I was in that strange place of half asleep, half awake, I had a dream. I dreamt that suddenly, it was the end of the world, and the earth literally exploded into hundreds of thousands of pieces. And when it did, I saw myself floating in space on one of those pieces. It was cold and dark. And I was all alone. Now, I know that sounds kinda funny when you picture it, but that is what I was dreaming. I woke up suddenly and was immediately terrified! The thought of being all alone, separated from my family and friends and everything I knew forever shook me to my core. I don't remember much else that night, except that I called out to my parents and my dad came in the room and helped me calm down. He prayed with me and I fell asleep.
It is here that I must state that I don't think every dream means something or whatnot. But I do know and believe that God uses dreams to get our attention at times. He did so many times in the Bible. Whether or not that is what was going on here, I do not know. But I do know that it had my attention and I was VERY excited to go to church that next morning. Now, usually my parents preferred my whole family to sit together in "big church," but occasionally they let me go to children's church. I must have begged them to let me go or something, because this Sunday I was allowed to go to children's church. I remember one of the assistant pastors of the church, Joey Fowler, was teaching that day, and he was giving the Gospel. Can I tell you that I don't think I even breathed during that whole service? My eyes were glued to him and I was listening intently to everything he said. My dream from the night before kept coming to my mind, and I knew I needed to know for sure that I was not going to be alone for all of eternity.
When the message was done, and Mr. Fowler (actually, he is a doctor now...) asked us to bow our heads and anyone who wanted to ask Jesus to be their Saviour to come forward, I was up and out of my seat in an instant. Dr. Fowler went with me to the side, and led me in a prayer. I knew what I was doing. I knew what I needed to do. And I prayed and asked the Lord Jesus to come into my life and save me from my sin.
When we were done, we went back to join the rest of the kids. They were handing out the quiet seat prize and can you imagine that I won the quiet seat prize for the girls! And what was the prize? It was a whole, crisp, clean dollar bill! What a terrific day! Salvation and a dollar! Well, we were dismissed and I went running (and I mean running) to my parents to tell them what happened. I found my dad first and I remember yelling to him, "Daddy! I just got saved and I got a dollar!" Haha! My dad quickly responded with a "What!?" Hehe. I think he initially thought that Dr. Fowler was paying kids to get saved! But, when I took the time to explain it all, he realized that was NOT what was happening.
For the rest of the day, I remember being so excited. After our Sunday meal my dad told me how all of heaven rejoices when even one soul is saved. I then spent a lot of the afternoon jumping around singing, "The angels are rejoicing! The angels are rejoicing!" I, even at the young age of six, had that wonderful knowledge and joy that I was on my way to heaven! I couldn't contain that joy, either.
As I grew and we continued to be in church, I did have times when I struggled with the assurance of what I did. Was I really saved? Did I really mean it? I don't have the specific date that it happened on, so that often would play into my doubts. But, after being counseled one year at camp, I knew without a doubt that I was saved. I think that is one thing that Satan can use in those of us who grew up in church. He gets us to doubt, well, pretty much everything that he can!
For the rest of my growing up years, I was a "pretty good" Christian. I went on visitation. I served where I could in the church. I went on mission trips. I helped in VBS. And most often I did all of those with a sincere desire to serve the Lord. But there were times when it was all really just so that people would look at me and say, "Oh, wow. What a great Christian that Emily Doan is!" It made me feel good to have people think and/or say that about me. And I look back at those times with regret that I did them with the wrong heart, and wonder if my wrong attitude hindered the working of the Holy Spirit.
It wasn't until I went to college and had been there for a year or so when I realized a fact that sobered me greatly. I had been saved for 12+ years, and I was still somewhat of a shallow Christian, a baby, if you will. My faith was not as deep as it should have been. I met friends and roommates at college that had been saved just a year or so and their walk with God was so much deeper than mine. I know we are not to compare ourselves with others, but it took that to make me realize I was still trying to live on just "milk" and not getting the "meat" that I needed. And that's when I really started to grow as a Christian.
I was blessed to find some godly friends who, together, we encouraged each other to grow in our walk with the Lord. I was given some leadership responsibilities that stretched me not only as a leader, but as an example of a Christian. And then, my junior year, I met the godliest guy I had ever met, Matthew Sealy. It has been through my friendship, dating, and now marriage to him that I have grown the most in my personal walk with God. He has helped me to not only have the desire to search the scriptures, but to act on that desire and really find out why I believe what I believe. I have dug deeper in even the basics that I have been taught my whole life, and am working on being able to show from the Bible my beliefs, rather than just repeat what I have always been taught.
I am so very thankful for the great blessing it is to have the family and upbringing I have had. Because of the fact that I was always in church, was always either home schooled or went to Christian school, there are many things that I am able to say that, by God's grace, I have no regrets about. I have never been tempted to pick up a cigarette. I have never been drunk on alcohol (actually, have never even tasted it.). My husband is the first and only boy I have dated, kissed, or held hands with. I have never used fowl language or curse words. I say these things not to brag, for it is only by God's grace that I was not tempted with any of that. I say all that to bring praise to my God, and thank Him for protecting me from many, many things. Although I am FAR from perfect and have regrets in other areas of my past, I am so thankful that He protected me from so much.
I am so glad to know without a shadow of a doubt that I am saved, and on my way to heaven. Glory to God. Can you say the same? Have the angels ever rejoiced over you? I certainly hope and pray so.
Until next time...
