WRITE2SHINE...
Words to Encourage, Motivate & Inspire
My Story So Far
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me." Galatians 2:20 NAS
__________________________________
My Story So Far
By Jody R Goode
Father surely knows best. He knows when death will mean LIFE to one of His children. My life with Him has never been the same since I died that March afternoon in 1994. Let me start at the beginning.
A teenager in 1976 I went to the movies never knowing that I was about to embark on a journey that would change my life - that would give me Life. The movie was "The Hiding Place" about the spiritual heroine Corrie Ten Boom sponsored by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and afterward I picked up some pamphlets and a bible study of the Book of John that I would participate in through mail correspondence. It was a five or six week study and the last question I was asked to answer was, "Did I believe Jesus was all I needed in life and was I willing to open the door to my heart and let Him in to be just that - everything I would ever need in Life?" On March 27, 1976 I said "yes". To this day I know for a fact that He has never left my side. No babe in Christ could ever fathom what a relationship with Him will have to offer and I know I did not have a clue. Years passed and I made feeble attempts to know and understand the Truth of God's Word. A turning point in my relationship with Jesus came as I listened to a speaker telling me and the others in the assembly that evening that only one in ten people who profess to be Christian would still be making that same profession of faith ten years hence. It was at that very moment when my heart cried out to the Lord giving Him permission to make sure that I would be that one in ten. According to my Lord's command I wanted to love Him with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength. To this day He has never failed to teach me how to love Him that way and I can now look back on my life and see how His sovereign Hand has and continues to move in perfect time and order to guide my path and desires along His path of righteousness.
It was now 1994 and with my husband and children we had prepared for our first big family vacation in years. We plotted our route, packed our camper-trailer and were on our way from Idaho to the Grand Canyon of Arizona, very excited to site-see the beautiful country along the way. A simple prayer of protection for our journey was just the beginning of what has become the single-most important event in my life with Christ. The second day into our journey we met with savage Utah canyon winds that first caught the camper and as the camper gave in to the gusts, in turn our vehicle was thrown into a multiple roll-over wreck. Amazingly, physically, we all sustained very minor cuts and bruises; however, spiritually I was changed forever. During the five hours I was unconscious as a result of a concussion, I experienced God in a way I still cannot fully comprehend. After I awoke in the hospital I proclaimed to my nurse that "I was just with God's angels and He let me come back!" My mind will not allow me to remember that time with the Lord, but I believe wholeheartedly that I had been to the sacred Holy of Holies. I wondered if I had actually died and come back at the Lord's will. I concluded that if I didn't physically die I certainly did allow my "self" to die and experienced a complete surrender of heart and soul to the gracious Lord of my salvation and at that moment devoted every remaining breath I was to be given to the Lord in service until that day when I would find myself again in His Presence, this time forever.
A few days after the wreck found us home again in Idaho and the cobwebs began to clear from my mind. I started thinking about the date of the car wreck and wondered why that date sounded so familiar,March 27th. Beginning to recollect, I pulled out my Bible and looked at the date I had printed in gold on the cover "March 27, 1976". It was my birthday in Christ! It had been eighteen years to the day since I trusted Jesus and believed on His marvelous Name. On that day eighteen years prior I had given my heart to Him and He had promised never to leave me nor forsake me. What a grand reminder,He was still and forever would be with me, even until the end of the age. I have never referred to the wreck as an "accident" and never will for my Lord and His angels orchestrated the whole thing to draw me intimately closer to my faithful Father who surely does know best. He knew that death would bring to my soul the everlasting LIFE I so yearned for.
As I humbly look forward I can only stand completely awed by the majesty of my King upon His throne and pray that He is all I will ever see in my future, all the while trusting in Him, serving Him and loving Him with all that is within me.
The Truth of God's Word that now runs like a living stream within my heart as a result of this blessed event ... "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me." Galatians 2:20 NAS
Jody R Goode AKA the 'Hug Lady' XXXO (Kisses, Kisses, Kisses, Hug!)
-- XXXO www.evangelicalpoetry.com
© Jody R Goode
Used By Permission
__________________________________________________
Notes: This is Jody's story. To find out more about Jody, please visit her website at www.evangelicalpoetry.com
By Jody R Goode
Father surely knows best. He knows when death will mean LIFE to one of His children. My life with Him has never been the same since I died that March afternoon in 1994. Let me start at the beginning.
A teenager in 1976 I went to the movies never knowing that I was about to embark on a journey that would change my life - that would give me Life. The movie was "The Hiding Place" about the spiritual heroine Corrie Ten Boom sponsored by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and afterward I picked up some pamphlets and a bible study of the Book of John that I would participate in through mail correspondence. It was a five or six week study and the last question I was asked to answer was, "Did I believe Jesus was all I needed in life and was I willing to open the door to my heart and let Him in to be just that - everything I would ever need in Life?" On March 27, 1976 I said "yes". To this day I know for a fact that He has never left my side. No babe in Christ could ever fathom what a relationship with Him will have to offer and I know I did not have a clue. Years passed and I made feeble attempts to know and understand the Truth of God's Word. A turning point in my relationship with Jesus came as I listened to a speaker telling me and the others in the assembly that evening that only one in ten people who profess to be Christian would still be making that same profession of faith ten years hence. It was at that very moment when my heart cried out to the Lord giving Him permission to make sure that I would be that one in ten. According to my Lord's command I wanted to love Him with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength. To this day He has never failed to teach me how to love Him that way and I can now look back on my life and see how His sovereign Hand has and continues to move in perfect time and order to guide my path and desires along His path of righteousness.
It was now 1994 and with my husband and children we had prepared for our first big family vacation in years. We plotted our route, packed our camper-trailer and were on our way from Idaho to the Grand Canyon of Arizona, very excited to site-see the beautiful country along the way. A simple prayer of protection for our journey was just the beginning of what has become the single-most important event in my life with Christ. The second day into our journey we met with savage Utah canyon winds that first caught the camper and as the camper gave in to the gusts, in turn our vehicle was thrown into a multiple roll-over wreck. Amazingly, physically, we all sustained very minor cuts and bruises; however, spiritually I was changed forever. During the five hours I was unconscious as a result of a concussion, I experienced God in a way I still cannot fully comprehend. After I awoke in the hospital I proclaimed to my nurse that "I was just with God's angels and He let me come back!" My mind will not allow me to remember that time with the Lord, but I believe wholeheartedly that I had been to the sacred Holy of Holies. I wondered if I had actually died and come back at the Lord's will. I concluded that if I didn't physically die I certainly did allow my "self" to die and experienced a complete surrender of heart and soul to the gracious Lord of my salvation and at that moment devoted every remaining breath I was to be given to the Lord in service until that day when I would find myself again in His Presence, this time forever.
A few days after the wreck found us home again in Idaho and the cobwebs began to clear from my mind. I started thinking about the date of the car wreck and wondered why that date sounded so familiar,March 27th. Beginning to recollect, I pulled out my Bible and looked at the date I had printed in gold on the cover "March 27, 1976". It was my birthday in Christ! It had been eighteen years to the day since I trusted Jesus and believed on His marvelous Name. On that day eighteen years prior I had given my heart to Him and He had promised never to leave me nor forsake me. What a grand reminder,He was still and forever would be with me, even until the end of the age. I have never referred to the wreck as an "accident" and never will for my Lord and His angels orchestrated the whole thing to draw me intimately closer to my faithful Father who surely does know best. He knew that death would bring to my soul the everlasting LIFE I so yearned for.
As I humbly look forward I can only stand completely awed by the majesty of my King upon His throne and pray that He is all I will ever see in my future, all the while trusting in Him, serving Him and loving Him with all that is within me.
The Truth of God's Word that now runs like a living stream within my heart as a result of this blessed event ... "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me." Galatians 2:20 NAS
Jody R Goode AKA the 'Hug Lady' XXXO (Kisses, Kisses, Kisses, Hug!)
-- XXXO www.evangelicalpoetry.com
© Jody R Goode
Used By Permission
__________________________________________________
Notes: This is Jody's story. To find out more about Jody, please visit her website at www.evangelicalpoetry.com
| Share your views |
