I never told Dave or my parents about what happened in the kitchen when I turned my life over to God. “I give you my whole life, Father,” was my prayer. It was so holy to me that I could not even speak to anyone about it. Still searching, I spent days sitting in my rocking chair listening to hymns and music about Jesus and the Father. Why had I never seen Jesus before? God was revealing Him as a true friend and the son of God. Dave and I also received the gift of a son, born in December 1970.
My desire for scripture reading grew. I searched for a bible to read, but the only one I could find was a large family size bible. The Prayer Book was central in our lives. It was filled with prayers written for all occasions and some scripture. I thought of the cross and Jesus’ death and of my brother who died. I looked for solace. Mother was gone now but God had given me peace and comfort. Finally, I went to one of our priests and told him that ‘something happened’ to me and I was different. I shared with him my desire to read the Bible. The priest did not know what to do, so he asked me to teach a high school class at church, instead of the kindergarten class I was teaching.
That did not satisfy me, so I left my childhood church and we bowed out of our activities. My search continued and we attended other churches in our denomination until Dave’s brother and his wife invited us to their church. St. Martin’s was a missions church situated on a hill facing a major highway. There was a large sign mounted on top of the church roof, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and Dave’s brother and his wife were very happy there.
We were not opposed to the sign, nor did we mind the midweek bible studies that were being held. People were raising their hands to God and the atmosphere was casual. We found out that they were in the Charismatic Movement which had begun at Duquesne University as priests began seeking the Holy Ghost experience. Guitars and drums were added, along with tambourines and people clapping in some of their meetings. Visitors came from all over Pittsburgh. People were being water baptized in swimming pools instead of being sprinkled. St Martin’s was becoming a leader in the Holy Ghost movement and there was much talk of “knowing” God and being filled with the spirit.
It was very exciting. We found copies of Good News for Modern Man that were now being used at church. We sat with our coffee and read aloud to each other. “Listen to this!” we gasped. We clutched our bibles and carefully read verse after verse and sang the hymns we loved so much. Our eyes were being opened. I cannot express the joy we had reading scripture in an everyday language.
One day my sister-in-law and I were talking about the movement in the church, and she told me about being ‘born again’ and asking Jesus into your heart. She said, “That is how you would know God and are saved.” At last, I knew what had happened to me on the day when my yellow chair became an altar!