Still Small Voice

I grew up in a family where God was not a part of our family, nor did we know what being a Christian was. It is very interesting to look back and see that our parents raised us by the 10 Commandments, and followed the same rule for themselves. We knew that we were loved, and discipline was handed out as merited.

My family was a military one, with members being in either the Army or the Marine, so it was only natural that we had an Army or Marines preference in our selection of husbands. Well, something must have happened to me because I fell in love with a Navy Sea Bee. The Sea Bee is the construction battalion of the Navy. When I was sixteen, the Navy was not my cup of tea. At seventeen I considered them not to be too bad, and at eighteen, I married a Navy man.

My life followed the same pattern as my parents. We associated with people that drank to excess, had more arguments than I felt other married couples had, left our children with baby sitters, and the only thing on our minds was “Me”. During this period, my life hung in the balance during the birth of our second child. While near death, I went through a dark tunnel with a brilliant light at the end. I knew if I could make it to the light I would live. My child died, and life continued on the same.

We had been married about 20 years, when one morning, I awoke and heard the words “Jeanie get baptized!” I had no idea what baptism was, so went on a search for someone to help me. I called my sister and told her what happened; there was a long pause before she told me that she also had the same feeling. I told her mine was not a feeling, but a voice, and I was alone when it happened. Her next words to me were “See if you can find a preacher to do it?” This started me on a week long search trying to find a preacher to baptize us.

I spent the next week calling all of the churches in our town asking each minister if he would baptize my sister and me. They all kept telling me I had to go to some training before they would, except for one. He asked me if we could meet with him the next Tuesday at his Church, and he would speak with us about what it was, and if we were ready. I said we were ready and both agreed to the call I was making to get baptized. He said Ok and told me where the Church was located.

The next week we met the Pastor, who turned out to be a really nice person. He asked if we knew what baptism was, and when we told him "no", he said “I could baptize my bird dog, and it would do no more good for him than you at this time”. He asked us to attend Church the next Sunday and learn what we were asking him to do. We ended up attending Church for the next two months, and then one Sunday the altar call came with the song, “Just as I am” and before I knew it we were walking down to the front of the Church. The next Sunday we were baptized and from that day forward, my three Sisters, Brother, Brother In-law, Husband, and Father accepted Jesus Christ and have been baptized.

My life has never been the same since that time. My marriage is God centered, and choices that we make now are not “Me”, but working together with each other and prayer to God to lead us in the right direction.

This is all just to say that not only are we faithful members of our Church, but due to following that still small voice, we involved others.

© Jean C Prentice