Today I am going to tell you about my first encounter with God. Before I do, I need to explain a few things.
I was raised Adventist from birth. My entire family is Adventist. I am 3rd generation Adventist. This means my grandparents were adventist, so is my mother and I am the third generation of Adventists in my family. However from a very young age I hated being Adventist and everything related to Adventism, as I constantly felt restricted. And so from around 13 I decided I would never ever become Adventist. As soon as I was old enough to do my own thing, I stopped going to church. Everything that Adventists weren't allowed to do I did it! At school all my friends were non Adventists because I didn't want anything to do with adventism.
Anyway, back to my story.
At the time of my encounter with God, I was studying at a university in Spain. It was near the end of my course and one of my friends decided to throw a huge party.
Day 1
Feeling really drunk to the point where my entire body was floppy, unable to move my limbs and I was constantly going in and out of conscientiousness.
Day 2
Constantly hallucinating/ really bad nightmares
Can't figure out what's real and what's not.
Day 3
Regain full conscientiousness.
Could see the light coming through my bedroom window and could hear the children near my apartment playing. I could also smell the stench in my room. My bed was soaking wet from urine, sweat and vomit. The room smelt awful from horrible stench of stale alcohol, urine and vomit.
A few minutes later I remember hearing my flatmate Elise calling me.
In that moment, I tried to speak, tried to let her know I was there. But my mouth was as if I was mute. No sound came from my mouth; no matter how hard I tried. I then tried lifting my body but I couldn't move.
My whole was paralysed. I could move only my head and my neck but the rest of my body was paralysed from my neck down to the tips of my toes.
Immediately, I was frightened and started to panic and cry.
Then I remembered, all the bible text I had to recite as a child and all the songs we use to sing. I started to pray, begging God to help me and promised that if he answered my prayer; then I would never drink again, never eat pork again, never party again, never smoke again. I made lots and lots of promises. After that I spent the whole day singing and praising God and reciting bible texts of thanksgiving and praise because in my heart I genuinely believed that God would answer my prayer.
Day 4
I remember waking up the next morning. I could hear the birds tweeting. I felt good because I was confident that God had answered my prayer. Slowly I tried lifting my body out of bed, but I couldn't. I kept trying, each time trying hard than before. But, it was no use, I was still the same. My whole body was still paralysed. I couldnt move anything except my head.
I was fuming, vexed! I began shouting, cursing and arguing with God as though he was a real person inside my room with me.
I yelled.... You said.....in your word! Whatsoever we ask according to your will you will hear us! You said....ask and you shall recieve, seek and you shall find! I have asked! I have seeked! And I have believed! I believed with all my heart that you would help me, why have you not answered my prayer?!
The one thing, I have asked you for and you haven't done it!
Then after arguing and shouting at him for about 30 mins. I concluded...
I am done with you!!
I don't ever want to hear the word, God, again!! I am done with religion. This whole Christian thing is a lie. You are a liar! You don't even exist! It's a load of lies. I don't ever want to hear the word God mentioned to me again!
Then around 10/15mins later when I had finally calmed down. I heard this still, gentle, calm voice
(I know it sounds crazy but it's true).
All it said was..... How do you say Seventh Day Adventist in Spanish?
It was so simple yet profound. You see at the time I was training as a Spanish translator/ interpreter. My specialism was legal and political translation, so my level of Spanish was pretty high. Also at the time when God asked me this question, I was extremely proud of my achievements in Spain; I was so fluent in the Spanish language, that most people thought I was a native Spanish speaker.
However, for some unknown reason, I could not respond to God's simple request. I knew how to say seventh and day, but no matter how much I tried, I just couldnt figure out how to translate adventist in Spanish, or even how to put all words together to make sound correct in Spanish. No matter how much I tried, it never quite sounded right. After racking my brain for I while I finally concluded, I didn't know. I also realised that I didn't know any Spanish words relating to God. I knew how to curse God or blaspheme his name. But I didn't know how to say, Jesus, or Holy Spirit, hymns, bible, prayer, pastor, saviour and any many other words related to the praise and admiration of God. I also started to realised that I don't know any bible scriptures or Christian songs in Spanish. I had been there nearly 1 year, and I never once visited a church or read my bible. Suddenly, I started to remember all the times I cursed or used Gods name in a fowl way. I also remembered moments in Spain when I ridiculed the adventist name and principles. I remembered all the bad things I had done over the past year. Then like a flashback, I remembered how I had just cursed God a few moments ago. My lips started quiver. Out of shame and repentance for what I did I started to cry uncontrollably; weeping like a mother for her dead child. I started to cry out to God for forgiveness. Not only for my behaviour over the past year but also for my rude and offensive words. In that moment I recognised God's love for me. He could have ended my life. After all, I totally rejected him. I had made my decision clear. I didn't want to know him. Yet. Instead of leaving me; he decides to give me another chance. Like a loving parent, he decides to gently talk with me. He decides to ask me, one simple yet profound question.
Something that would change my life forever.
Anyway, after confessing and apologising to God. I then ended with this prayer....
You have no reason to heal me. In fact, if this is the end for me, I understand. However, should you decide to heal me. I can't promise you much. I can't promise I won't drink again. I can't promise that I won't go out, nor stop smoking, etc.....but the one thing I can promise, is this: If you choose to heal me. I will find an adventist church and I will go every sabbath. That's the only thing I can promise.
After this, I remember feeling at peace and later fell asleep.
Later that night around 9pm. Just like the first day, my flatmate came to my bedroom door calling me.
Again, I tried to answer her as before. And as if by miracle my voice returned to me and I was able to say...
Yes! Yes! Yes! Am here! In my excitement I tried lifting my upper body. Again, miracluously, I was able to move (It was as if I was being released from chains). I sat upright in my bed and staggered my way to the bedroom door, and opened it; exclaiming to my flatmate, you wouldn't guess what happened to me?
Later that night, after sharing my experience with my flatmates. They explained how I made it home.
Early the next morning after the party, around 6am, someone constantly kept ringing the buzzer for long periods of time. So much so, it woke up my flatmate and her boyfriend. Finally, as the person would not stop, Micheal decided to go and answer the intercom.
Now my flatmates were both French. And Michael didn't knew any Spanish or English, so whenever you wanted to speak to him, you had to speak French! Nonetheless, on this occasion, when he answered the intercom. He said that the person kept repeating to him,
"come now, she's at the gate! Come now, she's at the gate!" He then, hang up the phone and went back to bed. However, the person kept buzzing!! When my flatmate Elise asked Michael why he refused to answer the phone.
Michael explained to her that he didn't understand what they meant. They just kept repeating, "Come now she's at the gate!" Elise, then suggested that, it could be me and that maybe I had forgotten my keys.
Michael then described how he saw me, down stairs lying dead on the pavement outside the front gate. He took me upstairs and him and Elise took off my shoes and laid me on my bed and close the door. And that's how I got home from the party.
So my message you is simple, God is real! Try God, he exists, he loves you, he hears you and he answers prayers.
May God bless you!
Happy Sabbath :-)
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