Enthusiastically, Dawn

Today I am sharing a story I wrote ten years ago when I was invited to tell my Jesus story for a fellow writer’s blog. More recently I was asked to share my testimony at church. I felt very overwhelmed because the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to tell. And a testimony is something that is suggested one condenses to a manageable amount of life events pointing to Jesus. But the older I get and the longer I walk with this Jesus, I have come to know…the harder I find it to fit into one little testimony. As John records,

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

John 21:25

For many of us who walk by faith I wonder…don’t we all have a whole lot of Jesus stories to tell? When I started this blog in 2011, I felt led. Led by the Lord to share with words, what God was showing me. Simple. Not complicated. Yet me, being so like my spiritual relatives – so quick to offroad, to go to the many High Places, to wander aimlessly. Only to come back to the place who is my True Home. Elohim.

I’d love to fill the whole blogosphere and beyond, with Jesus stories. That sounds so much better than the stuff that’s saturating every place words live and are shared. Let’s do that? Let’s promise to keep telling our Jesus stories, let’s take over the whole internet with them. Let’s remember all the things He has done, and tell everyone our short, medium and oh, so TALL and longish Jesus stories- how He lives and moves and has our being with us…IN US – even as we go! Let’s tell all the miracles we’re seeing. Let’s shift our FOCUS to the One who truly RULES and rules forever all things, which He also created. So here is my first toss in. May the Lord bless and use these words for His glory.

I Am Redeemed (A Jesus Story by Dawn Paoletta) 

It is a beautiful Saturday afternoon as I leisurely walk with my tall, athletic male counterpart on the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island. The local university campus buzzes with activity around us. The day stands out to me, as does the moment itself―as if somehow, one could press pause on a moment in time that is significant in the span of one’s life.

Because he is taller than I, I stride long to keep up to his leisurely pace.

We are having one of several conversations that, ultimately, lead to my conversion. I understand that no man can “convert” another. Only God can birth a spiritual being (John 1:3, 3:6). And that He often uses fragile, hypocritical, imperfect people is a testimony to His amazing grace and ultimate sovereignty.

My friend and I are walking as sunlight pours onto the pavement, spilling gold through green trees, when I suddenly realize that we are three …

Thinking back, until I was twenty-eight, I know I was a wildly liberal, secular-thinking, God-believing, but not God-fearing, humanist. Even before my twelfth birthday, I was reading my mother’s Cosmopolitan magazine, well-versed in the things that this world glorifies. I was not ashamed when a friend who knew me admiringly exclaimed, “You are truly a self-made person!” In fact, I loved it.

If life were a road, I was exceeding all speed limits, heading nowhere and happily discontent with the all- inclusive but illogical philosophy I had come to embrace over time. If I were a car, I would have been a piecemealed hot-rod with an attitude, comprised of stolen parts from all over the world. I would have sped past you on the highway and left you in the dust in my haste to be the first at the finish line. I wouldn’t have given you a glance as I passed you by, and if I did, it would have been because you were in the way, and I wanted to intimidate you with my fierceness.

The good news of this story is that God meets us wherever we are.

At that moment in time, on that sun-kissed afternoon, my nonsensical beliefs had a head-on collision with an imperfect, faithful, evangelical Christian.

“Have you ever heard the story of the woman at the well?” he asks me.

I have no idea to whom or what he is referring. I try to stride more effortlessly, as I shrug, anticipating a formal introduction.

He launches into a conversation Jesus had when He and His disciples stopped for water at an ancestral well (John 4). 

Suddenly, I am standing alone with Jesus. I am part of this story and feel His palpable presence and my own slow awakening. I see nothing but the sunlight’s rays surrounding my friend who recedes into silhouette.

I squint hard into the sun.

 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” John 4:26

Blinking into the light, I feel exposed. My friend is unaware that the Spirit has come alive in me, as we continue our walk and conversation.

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:8

Though I close the door and say goodbye, there will be more conversations in the future. The seed of faith has been planted, watered, and has begun taking root.

I desire more. Always more. This is my weakness; this is my strength.

God was wooing me, drawing me to Himself, longing to give me more, the more I desired―in His way, in His time and, most important of all, on His terms.

On one Saturday afternoon, I walked into the Light of Christ, by which all are laid bare. I came into the presence of the One True Living God while walking on a city street on a sunny afternoon.

Through those conversations my friend and I shared over coffee, meals, and mutual common interests, God revealed Himself and invited me into His eternal Kingdom, and I’ve never been the same.

Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies. Psalm 107:2

A Thought to Take Away/Ponder Further: As I have considered how the Lord revealed Himself to me over the years, and especially in the beginning, I think the most important thing to remember when we are sharing our faith or if we are new to faith, or on the fence, is that God’s timing and ours are out of sync. God does not work on the convenient timelines, and deadlines we so exalt in our mere mortal lives. He is not in a rush. This has been one of the hardest things to comprehend in my own faith life. We live in God’s classroom. On His timeline. Be open to His lessons. He is a willing teacher. You may already know and believe this, if so- then be encouraged today-keep believing, and fighting the good fight of faith my friend. Do not grow weary in well-doing- Or God is faithful!

Journaling Points/Prompts: Write about your earliest exposure and/or experiences with religion. What can you extract that might help you see God’s hand, plan or providence? Write about how or when you have shared your faith with another. How was it received? What did you learn? How has God revealed Himself to you recently? In the past? How did you come to learn about and know Jesus? Write about the negative impressions you may have had in the past about religion (or specific aspects of), then prayerfully bring these before the Lord in prayer and see what is revealed.

Thank you for taking the time to read these words today. If you decide to share a new, old or in-process Jesus Story, let me know, here or via e-mail! As many of you know I am not using social media platforms at this time. Would you let me know if you would like to hear more of my Jesus stories?

May God bless YOU as YOU share YOUR Jesus story!

Enthusiastically, Dawn