I remember being lonely and discouraged when I left home for my first teaching job. I didn’t know anyone in the new town, although my boyfriend planned to come visit me there since I was close to the navy base where he was stationed.

One late afternoon as I was unlocking the door to my apartment, the lady who lived next door greeted me with a smile and just chatted with me for a few minutes about what I was doing in the little town and how things were going for me. After that, Verna seemed to arrive home about the same time I did every day, so our conversations got longer as we shared about our lives and what was happening. That day, Verna invited me in, we had a soft drink together and she shared the gospel with me. She wasn’t pushy or demanding. She just shared that Jesus made a difference in her life and He could make a difference in me, too. Then she gave me a copy of The Way Bible and told me to start reading in the Book of John. I remember that it was a Friday night and Harry couldn’t come that weekend for a visit since he was on duty. I must have made my solo dinner as I did every night and then I settled in to watch some TV. Since nothing seemed to interest me, I decided to go to bed and read. I picked up the new book that Verna gave me, found the table of contents, found John and started reading. I read the entire book and then I fell on my knees next to my bed and prayed for God to come into my heart and life and save me. I know that I was crying and had no idea if my prayer would be heard, but as I prayed a peace came over me that I had never felt before, a feeling of being loved and accepted. A virtual stranger shared her story with me and thus began a journey that has lasted over five decades.

But my story doesn’t end there. Verna discipled me, inviting me to go to church with her where the pastor told me about baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit. When Harry came to visit a few weeks later, I told him about my salvation experience and he brushed it off, telling me that I could choose Jesus or him. I don’t remember exactly what I said, but I do know that I told him that if I had to choose, I would choose Jesus because He died for me.

That made Harry start thinking and Verna and her boyfriend Chris invited him to go to church with us. He did, the pastor talked to Harry for hours afterwards and Harry gave his life to Christ. I became a Christian on February 28, 1973; Harry, on March 10 that same year. We got married in April by the pastor of our new church and Verna and Chris came to our wedding, a trip of about five hours for all of them.

Now, my question to you is, who are you going to tell about Christ? With whom will you share your story? You don’t have to be an evangelist or a pastor? You just need to share your story to someone who needs to hear it. The Holy Spirit will go before you and tell you who to tell and then that seed that you plant will start growing, with God’s help. Jesus started with twelve disciples and now there are millions of Christian believers worldwide. We may not believe in the same doctrine, but we are all related to each other, brothers and sisters in Christ. And we all have a unique story that someone needs to hear today.