From the Archives: Winter 2007

By Jessie Hodges

I feel very blessed to have been raised in a Christian family with a strong Christian heritage. My parents are Christians, they were raised in Christian homes and their parents were too. As far as I know, most of my extended family are Christians, so it seems as if I’ve been surrounded by God’s love from the time I was born. It was this type of Christian upbringing that I credit for enabling me to make a sincere commitment to Christ at the early age of seven years.

As a first grader at Appalachian Christian School we were doing an exercise to help us learn our spelling words. The words were written on the black board so the teacher asked us to close our eyes and when she called on us, we were to spell the word out loud. When it got to me, I couldn’t remember how to spell the word I was asked to, so without anyone realizing, I peeked at the word on the board and spelled it right. The rest of the day I felt guilty for what I had done. That night as I lay on my bed feeling the weight of the guilt, I realized that what I needed was to get saved. I know now that all the teaching I’d received in my home, in my Sunday school classes and at my Christian school influenced me to realize that I was a sinner who needed a Savior. I got up, went to my parent’s room and told them what I was going through. Right then and there they led me in prayer and I received Jesus as my Savior. I went from feeling guilty to being overjoyed that my sins were forgiven. We called many of our family and friends to tell them about my decision and they rejoiced with us.

Because I was so young when I got saved, sometimes I have actually questioned if it was real. But when I think back on it and how I felt and how things have been for me since that time, I became more convinced at how real that salvation experience really was.

One particular time when I feel like my faith in Christ was made real is when my grandmother, Judy Hodges, got sick with cancer. She was a spiritual giant to me. She would tell us Bible stories all the time when we were growing up and sometimes she would call us on the phone and ask us Bible trivia questions. She was such a good example to me. I have often prayed that God would help me to love Him like grandma did. When she got sick when I was a junior in high school, it devastated me. Yet when all my family rallied around her as she was dying and so many people from church came to help us, my faith in Christ grew stronger. Though it was one of the worst times in my life, it was also one of the best, as I experienced God’s help and the help of his people. What that did for me was cause me to deepen in my love for God and my trust in Him. One of my favorite Bible verses is Proverbs 3:5-6 which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.” As I think back on my life I’m grateful for the examples I’ve had of people who love and trust God and I’m grateful for how He’s helping me to love and trust Him more all the time.