He Is My Life — The Journey

From the Archives: 2010

Written by Terry Chamberlain

I was raised in the Catholic Church and attended Catholic school until I was fourteen. At the church my father attended, the gospel was never really explained like my father heard it on the radio. When the preacher said you must be born again, you must have a personal relationship with God, my father thought, “I don’t have one,” but in his heart he knew he would find the right church that would tell him how to be born again.

Eventually, my father found a church and was born again. He took all six of his children to a nearby Pentecostal Church. The first evening we were there, all six of us went to the altar. I wasn’t saved
that night, but even at 12 years old I knew something was different in our household and especially with my father whom I lovingly called “Pa”.

New Life In Christ

In time, Pa was introduced to the Brethren Assembly denomination. At 17, I was a junior in public high school when I attended a youth service at the Assembly. I didn’t understand when the leader talked about being born again. As my friend drove me home that evening, he asked me if I were to die that night would I go to heaven. His question made such an impact on me that when I got home, I knelt by my bed and asked Jesus to come into my heart and be my Savior.

Trusting Completely In God’s Provision

In 1945, I married and my husband and I were members of the Assembly. In the late 1950’s, he got a good paying job with the Esso Gas Company and moved the four of us to Florida, where, much to my sorrow, our marriage failed. We were divorced. I was left with a mortgage, a living to earn, and two rebellious teenage girls to raise. Feeling the need to be surrounded by my family, I sold the house, packed up my life and with two kids in tow moved back to New Jersey.

At that point, my life consisted of being a mother, attending church, and working until I retired from a large hospital when I was 62. By the late 70’s, my daughters and I moved back to Florida. In 1988, and then my other daughter and her husband moved in 1998. In 1993, I moved from Boone to where I still live today.

During all the moving from the north to the south from the south to the north, a failed marriage, raising two daughters on my own, and having to live on a single income, I’ve learned to totally trust Jesus for every need I’ve ever had through every difficult time. I’ve brought all my needs to him in prayer these many years. He’s never failed to provide for me whether it be a place to live, a job, or clothes to wear.

He Is My Life

Praying and reading God’s Word has kept me close to the LORD. My church family at the First Assembly of God has been invaluable in my growth as an intercessor as well. In a culture where older citizens are not always valued, I’ve learned that there are so many needs that a “pray-er” is always in demand. Even at 84 years old, when a prayer request comes, whether it be from a loved one or for someone unknown to me, I go slowly (who needs a walker?!) to my quiet place and pray.

I feel like it was a miracle to be saved when I was young and although I didn’t completely understand salvation, I did realize my need for a Savior. Throughout my life, the Faithful One sustained me. Jesus has been my life-time companion. I talk out loud to Him because He is my closest friend.

The Bible verse I’ve leaned on for many years is 1 Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care on Him for He cares for you”. Jesus has cared for me, he has never changed and although my life went through numerous changes, many unwanted and undesired, He continues to be the most stable influence in my life. He is my life.