I met a Man...

Okay, so from the previous post one could gather where my Spiritual roots are...

Grew up in the stereotypical 'Christian home'. Didn't go to church every single Sunday, but often enough to make an impression on me from a very young age.

He was introduced to me then.

From singing Sunday School songs with a best friend (who just happened to live right next door) and recording those sessions on a portable tape recorder at the age of about seven or eight, to getting born-again at a Jeff Fenholt concert in my hometown of Witbank at the age of seventeen.

It's okay, very few people know who Jeff Fenholt is: He's a former lead singer of the group Black Sabbath, who got saved (that's when Ozzy came into the group) and started putting his musical talent and energy into Kingdom songs. He took his music on tour, and Witbank just so happened to be on his itenirary...and I just so happened to like rock music, despite efforts by the likes of Rodney Seale to convince the youth otherwise.

Long story short, I ended up going down onto the field with a fellow-pupil from my high school (and of course a crowd of other people), and there's no doubt in my mind that God indeed did something awesome in our lives that night.

I reached out my hand to Him.

As with many other new Christians, I didn't water the seed that was planted in my heart that evening. The result being that I finished school a year later, went overseas to be an au-pair in the USA and Netherlands, without REALLY consciously taking God with me. My Bible and daily devotional was never very far, but I undoubtedly didn't quite live life as a fulfilled Christian, and my relationship with God consisted of me being the only one doing all the talking, and not stopping to listen to Him even once. And even in that, our one-sided conversation didn't even take place every day.

Then I tuned into a local Christian radio station a few years after returning to my beloved SA permanently. They happened to be promoting a new cd from Hillsong United - whom I've never heard of until then and also played one or two of their songs. Being a person that likes rock music, I was very interested to hear this kind of Christian music. To top it all, the radio station was giving away free copies of the cd to people who would join them in being partners by donating an amount each month. Nou ja, I'm a sucker for good music, not to mention freebies! In the months that followed, it became my absolute favourite album to listen to in the car to work, to friends, everywhere. The lyrics really spoke to me and stirred up things in my Spirit which I've never felt before. God had already started to work with me through that album...

Just over a year ago, on 6 April 2007, I was on my way to Witbank to visit friends for the Easter weekend. I had turned 29 years old about two months earlier, and was sitting with some serious questions about life and where I was heading and how I was gonna get there, and whether it would be by myself, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera...etcetera... :)
I left home that Friday morning, later than I had planned to, and was fully intent on listening to a 'mix' cd I had put together the night before. But something prompted me to tune into the local Christian radio station to listen to their Good Friday service being broadcast live that morning. As I tuned in and listened, it was literally as if every word in that message was custom wrote for me for that particular place where I was in my life, and right then I KNEW that God had an appointment with me that day. That message touched me unlike anything else has before, and it was so overwhelming that I started crying less than 5 minutes into the message. The tears weren't tears of sadness, but of overwhelming awe and gratefulness more than anything else really.

Just as the message came to an end, I lost reception of the radio station, and put in one of my Hillsong United cd's - still crying. At that point I was about 40km from Pretoria, and as was customary for me, I turned the United cd right up to about 30 on the cd player's volume dial...still crying! I started talking to God and asking Him questions like I've never done before, and it was right about then that a voice softly said, "Turn it down and you will hear". At first I thought I was imagining things, but sure enough, as soon as I turned the volume dial down quite a bit, God started speaking into my heart, answering questions as I drove, tears still flowing down my face like a tap that was left running. I got to Witbank with bloodshot eyes, but an overwhelming peacefulness over me.

He was now unavoidably & inseperably a part of my life.

Looking back I realise quite a few things. Firstly that it was only by God's grace that I reached Witbank safely that day, as I can barely remember anything about actually taking offramps and all of that, let alone see where I was going as I was crying so much!! Also, I realise that God is indeed a faithful God, Who always keeps His promises and makes a way for things that He asks of us. I have come a long way in the year since I've been in this awesome (two-way!) relationship with God, but realise that I still have a long way to go.

But no doubt, my heart belongs to Him.

SHINE! (not the movie with Geoffrey Rush...)

In a recent Cell meeting, we were discussing the reason behind Christian life being so challenging. We came to the conclusion that life as a non-Christian is easy because one doesn't experience the whole spiritual battle for one's life...nor are all the demons and satan himself so mobilized as when a person gives his/her life to God!

This in turn has lead me to ponder how we live once we've stepped into the wonderful life which is that of a Christian, with all of God's promises and protection... Why do we then still conform the ways of the world and just give in to all of the negativity and hopelessness in it?

I'm thinking about things in SA in particular, as so many people (Christians too!) talk WITH the newspaper headlines and news bulletin reporters. I have found it increasingly challenging to keep a hold on the (unhealthy...?) dose of optimism which I believe God has blessed me with, especially with friends and family members falling into the 'doom & gloom' train of thought propagated by the media. I refuse to accept things as they are and just sit back and hand control to the enemy. I also refuse to leave the country 'because of everything that is happening' (or not happening, in some cases). Call me an idealist, call me dreamer, I don't care anymore. The fact of the matter is that we are ordained by God to SHINE His light through us where there is darkness. And yes, mostly this means that we should be doing this when it is NOT comfortable to do so... What's the use of putting on a light in broad daylight, i.e. being a fully fledged Chrisian at church, cell meetings and the like...? The light isn't needed in those places, it's already there! Let's be the ENTIRE and FULL-BLOWN person who God made each and everyone of us to be, in all apects, especially the new person we came to be through accepting Him. ESPECIALLY when we don't feel like it, or when it's not comfortable.