Well, it was recently suggested to me that I put my personal testimony on my web page. To tell you the truth, I thought about doing this many other times, but I never did because I really don't have one of those "lightening bolt" testimonies. You know the kind I'm talking about. There are many people who have been shown the love of Jesus, and after finding HIM - they've turned from a life of drugs and alcohol or they've been freed from a life of prostitution, etc. These kinds of testimonies are so wonderful to read and to realize just how fantastic Jesus really is. To think that HE can remove these kinds of sinful desires from peoples lives literally overnight is absolutely amazing.

That's the reason I never put my testimony here for anyone to read...that is, until today. It just came to me today after receiving an e-mail from another christian named Colin. In his e-mail he wrote, "...loved your web page, but I don't see your testimony here, Beth". Well, with that comment - it struck me. Just because I don't have one of "those" stories to tell of being yanked out of a life of crime, drugs, alcohol, etc. doesn't mean I don't have a story to tell you all. So, without further hesitation, I give you my life's story to read.

I was one of the very fortunate kids. Both my mom and dad were born-again believers long before they were married. I have told the story for years that the day I came into the world, my dad put a Bible in one hand and a tract in the other. It's humorus to say this, but it's not very far from the truth. My parents raised us in a home where we went to church Sunday morning, Sunday evening, Wednesday night prayer meeting, and every other special church service that there was. My dad was (and still is) a strong man of God with a tremendous faith and love for the Lord. He made sure that we were taught about the love of Jesus from the day we were born. We learned about Jesus in our home. My dad not only talked the talk, but he walked the walk. He is the most Godly man I know of, and I'm so thankful he set the example of Christ for us.

My mother was much like the woman described in Proverbs 31. She was a Godly, prayerful, hard-working, stay-at-home mom who was totally dedicated to her God and her family. Mom always yielded to dad as the spiritual leader of our home. When the Lord chose to take her home to be with HIM on Spetember 1, 1985 - it nearly killed us all. She was a tremendous woman of faith, and even as she lay dying with breast and lung cancer raging through her young body (for she was only 55 when she died), my mom NEVER lost faith in her Lord. II Corinthians 12:9 tells us, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." My mom lived that verse, and proved over and over again that God's grace IS sufficient! She maintained her faith and trust in the Lord right up until the very end of her human life. She touched untold numbers of people in the church, her neighborhood, and in our family because of her unending love and faith in the Lord. It was as a direct result of her death that God began working many changes in my own life, but not before I made many more mistakes along the way.

My mom headed up the Daily Vacation Bible School program at our small church every summer. It was at the tender age of 6 years old that I gave my life to Jesus at D.V.B.S. It is also for that reason that I urge people to make sure your children attend summer Bible School programs. Children are so hungrey for the Word of God - and Bible School is an excellent way for them to learn about Jesus love for them. I remember clearly going down to the basement of our little church with 3 or 4 other little children who also wanted to give their lives to the Lord. We had an evangelist with us by the name of Carlo Pietropaulo (and I'm pretty sure I've spelled that name wrong). Anyway, as you can tell from his name, he was an Italian evangelist who was on fire for the Lord. He could preach like no other man I've ever heard since, yet he could bring the Gospel down to a level where it was so simple, a child could understand it - just the way God intended HIS Word to be. That's the beauty of my faith today....it's so simple!! Jesus made it simple.

Was my life a bed of roses from the day of my salvation until now?? No...absolutely not. In fact, once I hit the teenage years, I went through much turmoil and many troubles over the years because I decided MY way just had to be better than HIS way. Being a child of God does NOT mean your life is a bed of roses. Also, the Lord will allow you to make your own decisions along the way. HE never forces us to do something we don't want to do. It's a lot of work and dedication following the Lord, but the rewards are incredible. To share just a little with you, I got married at the age of 21, and was divorced by the age of 25. I married a man who I thought was a christian, but I know now that I married outside the will of God. My first husband was NOT the man of God I thought he was, but I was so worried about being an old maid. Imagine that...21 years old and worried about being an old maid! How ridiculous I was - and how I paid for that stupidity. The minuite I took my eyes off the Lord and followed my own plan, my life changed radically - for the worse. It was during this time that I learned the real meaning of Proverbs 3:5 & 6, "Trust in the Lord will all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path." Without going into all the ugly details here, it's enough to say that God took a situation which was nothing but pain and turned it into something beautiful. As a result of that marriage, I adopted my daughter, Stephanie. She was 15 months old when I adopted her and she is truly something special. Had I not met and married my first husband, I would never have had the opportunity to call Stephanie my own. Her life was not an easy one because she was brought up for 4 years by a single mom who was really confused, but God makes everything work according to HIS will (Romans 8:28 states, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to HIS purpose".

That marriage ended after only four years. In that I was raised in a christian home and absolutely do NOT believe in divorce, I went through many emotional ups and downs as a result of that divorce. My entire family went through these awful days of depression with me and never did they leave my side. It was during these trying years that I turned my back on Jesus. I just didn't want HIM in my life because of all the hurt HE was letting me go through. Later I realized that it was MY CHOICE, and not the Lord's choice for me to be going through all this agony. I also concluded that if HE had loved me so much - HE never would have left me go through the emotional pain and agony. Eventually, I wised up and got back into the Bible and read the Book of James. This is one of my favorite Books of the Bible, and it speaks of grace and suffering, and our reactions to suffering. Specifically, James chapters 3 & 4 were instrumental and helping turn my life around.

Who else but the God who created everything we see and touch could take my life with all it's filth and sin and turn it into something beautiful? After four more years of being alone, being bitter, learning to hate and distrust most men, and being a lousy mother to my young daughter - my life began to change. Slowly I began to see that I simply could NOT live my life separate from the Lord. At the age of 28 I met Charlie. He, too, was a lonely, divorced, christian man with three girls of his own. He, too, was depressed and felt worthless and seemingly had nothing to live for, except the children. We began dating, and just six months later we married.

Suddenly I went from being the single mother of one little girl (who was now 5 years old), to a married woman with a husband and four daughters between us (ages 2, 3, 5 and 10) to help raise and take care of. Well, this was no easy transition...but with God there to lead us, we made it all the way. There were many years that we again walked separately from the Lord and did things our own way. But, God is a loving Father - always patient - always kind - and HE ALWAYS was waiting there for us to turn back to HIM.

I still believe divorce is wrong - because I believe what the Bible tells me (Lev. 21:14, Deut. 24:1-3, Jer. 3:8, Matt. 5:31 - just to name a few verses). However, I have learned over these difficult years that Jesus shed HIS blood on died on that cross for ALL our sins, not just a select few of our sins (Acts 10:43, "Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through HIS name everyone who believes in HIM receives forgiveness of sins."). Charlie and I realized that although we were divorced and had re-married each other that God still loved us and still makes a way of escape from our sins. Once we realized this, we simply asked HIM to forgive us of our sin of divorce, and asked HIM to bless our marriage and help us work through everything in our paths. Since that time, we both have been unburdened of the tremendous guilt of sin that the divorce caused us. We've come a long, long way since January 29, 1983 - and now here we are almost 16 years later as of the writing of this testimony. I can hardly believe how far the Lord has brought us and how blessed we are to have each other and our four beautiful daughters. Like I said - who but Almighty God can take a couple of lives like ours were, pick them up out of the filth of this world, and turn them completely around and mold them in to something beautiful? As it says in Ecclesiastes 3:11, "...He makes all things beautiful in His time".

Well, there you have it. This is what the Lord has done for me - and HE can do the same thing for you. Like I said earlier, Jesus made this so simple. What can you do to have Jesus in you life? You can do absolutely nothing, except BELIEVE!! Jesus already did it for you. HE died on the cross and shed HIS blood so that you could become a child of HIS. The Word of God tells us in John 3:16, "For God so loved that world that HE gave HIS only begotten SON - that whosoever believeth in HIM should not perish, but have everlasting life". Many of you have heard this verse thousands of times, but have never really believed what it says. Make no mistake...these are God's own promises from the Holy Bible. We are also told in Romans 10:9, "That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved". Again I say, what can you do to be saved? Simply believe!!! It's just that simple. All you need to do is believe that Jesus died for you personally. Do you understand that if you had been the only person on this planet, Jesus would still have died on the cross so you could have eternal life? HE loves you that much!! It's a very personal thing...it's a one-on-one thing. Jesus loves YOU!!!! Jesus died for YOU!!!! Jesus wants YOU to spend eternity in heaven with HIM!!!! Why not accept HIM right now. You've got nothing to lose - except an eternity of hell.

If you want to make this decision today, please e-mail me immediately and I will pray with you right over the computer. Yes, you can even pray with people over the interent!! I've done it hundreds of times. Contact me and I will be there for you, but more importantly - won't you contact Jesus today, and HE will ALWAYS be there for you. Also, if you want to learn more about salvation from your sins and if you want total peace of mind, please CLICK to see my page titled, "Let's Get Personal". CLICK HERE FOR "LET'S GET PERSONAL"

If you are a christian who is going through the horrible process of divorce, or if you are already divorced and feel lost and alone, please CLICK to see "BROKEN CIRCLE". This is an excellent web site which will help you deal with the heartbreak of divorce and show you Biblical refernces so you can deal with your broken family.CLICK HERE FOR "BROKEN CIRCLE"

email Beth Cates here: bacates@csrlink.net

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