My name is Susan, and I was born in the late 1950s. My father was christened as a child and grew up believing in God, but if I look back now, I wouldn’t say we were a Christian family in the true sense of the word, even though my father loved to sing hymns. When I was 5, I attended Sunday school and enjoyed learning about Jesus. Unfortunately, there was a fallout with my father and some of the church members that ended my Sunday school and the hope of going to church. However, I still enjoyed religious instruction at school; I just didn’t understand the true meaning of being saved or the true meaning of sinfulness.
I was around 12 when the movement described as the Jesus revelation gained momentum, and the hippie movement began to attract a large following here. However, in many ways, it created a mistaken conception of the Gospel. I still believed in Jesus as the son of God. Still, my life was taking a different path that led me into a very dark world. I soon learned of the true existence of evil. I was an easy target since I believed the people I had come to know were trustworthy and kind. This was a significant mistake. I lost all moral respect for myself, and I blindly did not see how Satan had control of my life and was leading me to sin.
I married in my early twenties and soon learned the true meaning of physical and psychological violence. I stayed in that marriage for five years out of fear for my life and my son’s. I didn’t even know how to cry anymore. Then things started to change. I prayed to Jesus for direction, and through prayer, my mindset changed. I had to face my fear head-on, so I left the violent marriage and was in hiding for safety for quite a while. It was during this time that I reached my lowest point for both my son and myself. I could see no other way out of this life, so I considered going to sleep and never waking up as my only option for true escape. I cried and begged Jesus for help and the strength for just one more day, and at that moment, I felt strong arms holding me, giving me comfort, love, and the renewed strength I had prayed for. It saved my life, and the one thing that kept me going was the Lord’s Prayer, which I would recite every day for comfort, as I still had no trust in people or the church. It was 25 years later, after a heavy and emotional discussion with my son Christian, that I realized the true meaning of sin and that Christ died for my sins and that I truly needed to repent of all my sins and give my life to Christ as my Savior and my Lord.
My life has truly changed from the 5-year-old who loved to hear stories of Jesus to a 68-year-old woman who firmly believes that Jesus is the Son of the Living God who died for mankind’s sins and was resurrected on the third day. He is my Savior and Lord.