Here are three “tiny stories” that were turned in by people in the ABC fellowship. They may be tiny in length, but they’re really about a BIG moment in each of these people’s lives, a moment of profound understanding that led to a life-changing decision. As you will see, their stories are entirely different.
Monique Mitchell wrote: “I was baptized as a baby and raised in a Christian home. However, when I came to the USA as an adult [from her homeland, Madagascar] I was only a ‘nominal Christian.’ One Sunday morning I heard God clearly calling me, when the preacher said, ‘You who are sitting on the fence, come to the Savior.’ Right then, I decided to study the Bible and become a true Christian. I felt I should be baptized again, and at my baptism as a believer I declared that JESUS IS LORD! That decision changed my whole life, and I have never regretted it.”
Dale McCall told of a dark moment when he was twenty-five: “It was the death of my daughter that God used to change my life. She died in my arms.”
Jaqueline Kyoda remembered : “I didn’t grow up in a Christian home, though I’d heard the story of Jesus since I was eight. When I was sixteen, I went on a three-day youth retreat, and it was there that I understood the gospel through a simple drama skit. It was about a girl who kept trying to ignore Jesus, and in her frustration, to get him out of the way, she pegged him to the wall, with his arms out as if he were being crucified. After she walked away, Jesus still came after her and embraced her. Through this little skit, I finally understood the measure of God’s determination to continually humble himself to reach me. I finally experienced being able to receive him as Lord of my life.”
Can you think of an Aha! Moment in your life? Through some incident, some conversation, some random thought, you all of a sudden heard God’s call and responded to it. Ever since that moment, you’ve been different and everything around you seems different. For Monique it came when she realized she had been sitting on a fence (which is very uncomfortable) and decided to come down on the Jesus side. For Dale it came through the tragic death of his seven-year-old daughter. For Jaqueline it came through a touching drama skit. For you it may have come in a totally unique way.
Or it may not have come to you yet. You may have been drifting through life Aha!-less to this point. If so, Friend, who’s that tapping you on the shoulder? Is it God? THIS may be your Aha! Moment.
— Pastor George Van Alstine