Faith On Every Corner_Issue 2_Final_91617

See, I got outside to get in my van and as I started
to open the door, I thought about something. Yes, I
know all the stories, all the special moments about
God, but I don’t know Jesus. I didn’t know Him. I
knew of Him, but I didn’t know Him.
I had been a good girl always doing what others
told me to do. I did, not because I wanted to do it,
but because I was told, “good girls go to church.”
Jesus knew about all the things that I did. He knew
me inside and out. My name is Pam, and I am being
changed one day at a time by a God that never
gives up on me. The Good News is that I didn’t
do anything; God did everything. He loved me so
much that He didn’t want to leave me where I was
at, and although life has not been perfect and I have
not been perfect, God has been.
Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who
believed in His name, He gave the right to become
children of God — children born not of natural
descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will,
but born of God. John 1: 12-13
That was Monday, May 26, 2000. It was Memorial
Day. School was in session that day, because God
knew what I needed more than I did. Shortly after
that, a young girl from R-S Central High School
wrote a letter to the local newspaper asking why
schools did not observe the holiday. The following
year, all schools in the county observed Memorial
Day. If you’re smiling, I am too. God’s timing was
and always is perfect.
On June 23, 2001, I was baptized in a swimming
pool. I still have the picture that was snapped, as I
came out of the water. I was grinning from ear
to ear. I could not contain my joy. I had been
searching for love, and love found me.
Has life been easy? No, but God has been good.
Everybody walks a road designed personally for
them by God, since before time began. I can’t
compare my journey with another person’s journey.
We each have unique life circumstances that make
us who we are. I am thankful for everything that
has happened in my life, because without God and
a woman who boldly spoke up for God, I wouldn’t
be alive today to write this story. I write for three
reasons. First, to give glory to God for what He has
done in my life; second, to let people know God is
alive, and third, to tell of the hope I have in Christ
now, and it’s because of Him and Him alone, I
sing, in the storms, in the peaceful times. I know
my God is alive and is in control.
The Associated Press printed a story on June 13,
2010 of a man named Don Ritchie who lives to
save people’s lives. He lives near a rocky cliff, and
when he wakes in the morning, he looks outside
his humble home and if there is someone
considering suicide, he goes to them and offers
them a listening ear, a smile, and a cup of tea. At
the time of the post, he had convinced 160 people
to change their minds. God can use anyone and
anything to make Himself known. God just asks,
“Are you willing?” This story was very difficult for
me to write, but if it can be used by God to save
someone’s life, then yes, I am willing to share it.
I never could grasp the fact that was right before
my eyes every day. I was a sinner, and no matter
how good I would be, I never was going to be good
enough. I was basing my entrance to Heaven on
what I did. That’s the funny part. When I look back
at what I did to gain others’ approval, it wasn’t God
I was trying to please. It was others and little ol’
me.
Editor’s Note: by Karen Ruhl
This story is printed as written by the author. It is our prayer that her testimony touches the life of others. It
has to be written from the heart so we can feel those raw emotions. Thank you for sharing your story Pam,
we are sure it will be an inspiration to others.
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