She could count on him at her worst moment, and he helped

Marie’s Story

I would like to share with you what God and church means to me. Often I hear people to speak badly of the Church. People say that they don’t need God or if they do they don’t need church. I have a different experience and I’ll tell you why.

Although I grew up in a Christian family, went to church and I sincerely wanted to live according to that, I truly met God when I was 40 years old.

It was after the Velvet Revolution when it became easier to meet people from different denominations, read Christian literature and most importantly read the Bible. I started to understand faith differently. Not only that Jesus Christ was crucified for all the guilt and sins but that he was crucified for my guilt and my sins, and I didn’t realize that before. He saved me personally for eternal life.

That was a new experience for me and I’ve believed it since then. I believe in him and have experiences with him. I can talk to him with my own words in my prayers about my joys and worries, ask him for protection and help. I can tell you after all those years of presenting big but also everyday problems to him he answers, sometimes just not the way we expect. I am also thankful for being part of a church where we can help each other, share and pray for each other. Praying and sharing worries strengthens faith and builds up relationships, I was convinced of that once again.

I was home alone with my six-year-old healthy granddaughter, who I used to pick up from kindergarten after lunch. At home I convinced her to take a nap. But after half an hour of sleep she had this weird state. She stood up staring into nothing and started shouting and trembling with her whole body. She ended up lying motionlessly in my arms and she wasn’t reacting to anything. “What should we do now?” As a former nurse I felt full of anxiety and I whispered “Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus.” I checked if she was breathing, covered her in a stabilized position with a blanket and called an ambulance. Then I was helplessly kneeling over my granddaughter, who looked lifeless. Every minute seemed never-ending. It may be surprising for some but in that situation I called my friend from church and asked her to pray. And I knew she would call other friends and they would pray for us and bless me, my granddaughter and doctors. I felt relieved because I knew I was not alone. After four days my granddaughter came back from the hospital, had an MRI with good results.

Now she goes to kindergarten, she is doing well and thanks to God there hasn’t been any seizure since then. I am extremely grateful that in this situation I could fully rely on God and I am also thankful for those who prayed for us. As the bible tells us “Carry each others burdens”. I have great non believing friends with whom I can talk about my worries and they will understand, but what more can they do?

 In church, not only can I find understanding but also solutions and help, that we pray for each other and create a family connected with love and faith in Jesus Christ with no difference of age or social status.

It is home. Sometimes things aren’t perfect but there is always the certainty of help. To those of you who have never experienced this or don’t believe it, I wish you as the Bible says “Taste and see that the Lord is good”.