In the years leading up to being teenager, I thought I was a pretty
good kid. I didn't do the things bad kids do, I made good grades in
school, and I played sports. Life was good. Or so I thought.
In
1993, God saw to it that I was on the same baseball team as the son of a
local pastor. Through conversation with my parents, Dr. Jerry Pickard
of Northside Baptist Church invited my family to come to church, and my
younger sister Paula was invited to VBS. Paula became a Christian at
that VBS, which meant that we all would be going to church again. (We
had stopped attending church anywhere for a while for whatever reason.)
It was through the faithful witness of people like Bro. Jerry, Mrs.
Sink, and Mrs. Agee that I really began to hear the truth of the gospel
for the first time in my life. I remember being shown a cartoon
presentation of the passion, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus that
greatly impacted me and got me thinking about things. It was the first
time I knew all that about Jesus.
The next winter, I was able to go
with the youth group to the Youth Evangelism Conference in Macon,
Georgia. My dad went along, too. I can remember so vividly sitting
under conviction in one of the floor chairs in the Coliseum. The
speaker was clearly presenting the gospel to us all, and he was calling
for a response. The Holy Spirit was definitely tugging at my heart. I
guess my dad could sense my inner struggle. He leaned over and said,
"I'll go with you if you need to go." I, tormented within, shook my
head and said, "No." I knew I was supposed to go talk to one of the
counselors about becoming a Christian, about surrendering my life to
Christ as Lord and Savior of my life, but I said no.
The next two or
three months were miserable for me. Every Sunday morning and Sunday
night as Bro. Jerry preached faithfully the Word of God, he would always
include the gospel. And I would always feel terrible. Now what was I
to do?
I'll tell you what I did. After church one Sunday night, as
our family was getting settled in for the night at home, I got down on
my knees in my bedroom and surrendered to Jesus. The Hound of Heaven
had caught up with His query. And as I shared a couple of Sundays ago,
in 1994 (just shy of my 13th birthday) I went "all in" for Jesus.
At
that moment in my room, I experienced a great sense of peace and joy.
The next day I began sharing with my mom and dad what happened. I was
able to talk to Bro. Jerry about it on the following Wednesday. He gave
me a Survival Kit book and told me to complete it, bring it back, and
then we could talk about baptism. It was an exciting time. The Lord
put all sorts of people in my life to teach me how to live life as a
Christian: Jerry Pickard, Carol Agee, Tony Agee, Wayne Gatliff, Darrell Brantley, Janie
Dunn, Beverly Waddell, Jason Baird, Angie Hartley, Terry Cliett, and Tim
Oliver to name a few. Some of the best things for me were the Youth
Retreats and Youth Camps that I went to at Norman Park (near Tifton, GA)
and Crawfordville, GA.
I'm so thankful that Christ saved me, and
that He brought me out go the darkness and into the light. Serving
Jesus is the greatest joy! Am I perfect? Of course not! But imagine
how I would be without Christ. I shudder to think it.
I'd love to hear your conversion story!
