If you have been around the Christian world here or there I’m sure you have heard the word ‘testimony’ before. It is usually a spoken or written testament about one’s life that includes the story of the challenges one was brought through to come to know christ. At least that was always my understanding of it. I’ve shared my testimony more times than I can count on my fingers, adding & changing the information every single time I told it. Sometimes I would take out the hard stuff because I didn’t feel comfortable sharing it to my audience & other days when I craved comfort, I would make sure to add all the details of challenges which soon turned into a pity story. Although I felt that my testimony never did give others the full picture of my relationship with God, I was never told that my testimony wasn’t told correctly. It never did feel correct though. I know it’s my own story & I could tell it how I want but what is the point of sharing a story that doesn’t point others to the truth? I always wanted others to capture a different perspective from my story but HOW???
Twenty years later & I am finally taught the goodness in testimonies. During our time in mentor groups while in Jaco we were challenged to tell our testimony to our individual groups of new faces in about 5 minutes. We were given a paper with a list of God’s characteristics on it to incorporate into our story to show God’s grace, love, mercy, omnipresence, etc. I finally had a perspective change. While I listened to my mentor Mack tell her testimony, I noticed that it lead me straight to the feet of Jesus. I was reminded of God’s goodness through her own life challenges in a way of thankfulness for all she has overcome. She didn’t tell her story to point out what could have gone better & the areas where she felt like God wasn’t walking with her, instead, she portrayed the image of God bringing her out of valleys & giving all praise to Him. I had the ability to also create a perspective shift in my testimony that leads others to understand the works of the Lord in my life. Sharing my testimony now feels good, it gives me hope & reminds me that not only God fits in every single area of my life like a tetris piece but He also gives me the ability to walk through deep waters so that I can learn to trust Him & find goodness in the only perfect person who once walked this earth. So, I’ve obviously been learning a lot about what it means to tell a testimony to capture the audience in a way of direction towards the Father & I even got the opportunity to share in front of the church last Sunday… in SPANISH (thanks to my handy dandy translator). All 14 of us were asked the previous evening to think of a short testimony to share at church the next morning to show God’s glory & our praise to Him. I thought that at least one person would have something to share out of all of us so I honestly didn’t think about it at all. The next day, sure enough, nobody wanted to share anything so I sat down & wrote out a short piece of my testimony that has been on my heart this entire trip.
Good morning, my name is P and I am going to share a short testimony about the goodness of God in my life. Growing up in the United States is a lot different than growing up in a Latin culture. It is very common to grow up without family and especially with the absence of a father. Growing up without a father has been difficult in many ways, my household income was always lower, I questioned why my own father might leave and there has always felt like something was missing in my heart. I always knew the Lord as a child but it was not until high school that I truly began to seek him out. I realized that God’s plan was for me to welcome him into my family. God wanted me to know that I was his child all along and he is all I ever needed. I thank God everyday for being my true father that shows me more love than anyone could ever show me. He is there every second I need him, God will never abandon me. I am blessed to call God my father.
As I read through my testimony in another language, in a whole other country & in front of complete strangers, I was overfilled with the joy of the Lord. Not only was I doing something for the first time (which gives me life) but I was able to become vulnerable enough to share something very very close to my heart to the community. I hope that everyone who witnessed my testimony was able to see past the absence in my life & watch as the Lord caught me into His own arms. He is the most loving & peace-giving Father I could ever have.
Love always,
<3 P
