The Chance of a Lifetime the chance to be saved

The following work is in some ways a work of fiction. There are parts that are true, and parts that are fiction. There are some parts that are true but in different ways than they are written. The purpose of this story is to show the beauty of salvation, and that all things are possible.

The chance of a lifetime

Rebecca had everything she could have wanted. She had a great home, a great career, plenty of money. Yes she had everything, except peace. People around her thought she had it all together. They thought she was happy. All she really wanted was a good nights sleep and a little bit of security. She thought it could never happen.

She had come from a broken home, and she didn’t trust people. She tried, but it was hard. So she lived quietly and kept to herself a lot. She had tried relationships, but they never seemed to work out. They never seemed to amount to anything worthy.

She decided to risk it all one day. She decided to sell everything she owned, and head out somewhere. She decided she wouldn’t make plans, she would just get on the road and decide which way to turn when she got there.

So that’s what she did. It took a few weeks to get rid of everything. Everyone at her job and in her extended family thought she had lost her mind. For once she decided she didn’t care. She was leaving to find her happiness, her place in the world.

She had been on the road for about 6 hours, had stopped for gas once and to eat another time. She headed for the east. She was close to Nashville and had stopped to go to the restroom. She suddenly started feeling really bad. She didn’t know what to do, but thought maybe she needed to go to the emergency room. She was shaky, and she felt exhausted. She felt like she might pass out at any moment. So she got her gps off the dash and typed in hospital. She touched the address and hit navigate. She followed the gps for about 15 minutes and suddenly it said “ You have arrived at your destination”. She looked around her, there was no hospital. All she saw was a church. She noticed cars in the parking lot and had the sudden desire to go in. She shook her head, that’s insane she thought to herself.

She kept driving, took down the GPS and again entered the address to the hospital, it led her around some side streets and again set her flat in front of the same church. This was too much to be coincidence she thought.

So, she pulled in and parked. She sat there for a good 10 minutes. She noticed the sign said service started at 7 PM. It was 6:45. So she opened the door to her car and got out. She was hardly dressed for church. Still, she had this gnawing at her. She had to go in. So she timidly walked through the doors of the church, there were people in the lobby who greeted her. She went in and sat down.

She hadn’t been to church in years, and it was such a horrible experience she swore she would never go back. Her childhood church was a nightmare. She didn’t like preachers, in fact, she didn’t like church people. She didn’t want any part of it. But for some reason tonight, as she saw the people get on the stage and heard the piano and the guitars start playing, she felt a sense of peace that she hadn’t felt in a long time. She didn’t know what to expect, she only knew that she had come this far and she wasn’t leaving this feeling she had. The people all stood up and so she did too. A man stood at the podium and started speaking. He was loud and seemed so happy. He said “ Are we gonna worship the Lord tonight?” He smiled and said “Come on and lift your hands and lets praise Him”. The music started playing an upbeat tune and people around her lifted there hands and started clapping and some of them even said amen. The song was so catchy, It was a song that she could relate to. It said “ Nothing is impossible”. She had often felt that it was impossible for her life to make sense ever again. But this song was telling her Nothing is impossible. The people around her were smiling and clapping, arms outstretched to the sky, some of them were dancing. She had never been to a church like this, and she found herself smiling. She felt the most amazing feeling of warmth. It was like she felt at home, even though she had never been there. She felt this peace within her, this joy welling up in her heart. She started clapping, and even lifted her hands. She felt chill bumps all over her, and tears coming to her eyes.

It had been a long time since she showed emotion in front of people, but she couldn’t help it. She let the tears flow freely, she let go of herself, just a little. They sang two or three other songs, and then they said to be seated. The preacher came to the pulpit and said Praise the Lord all ye people. Everyone stood up and started clapping and saying praise the Lord and Thank you Jesus. Then they sat down again. She was shocked when the preacher started speaking. He was loud, His voice was vibrant and was saturated with passion. She listened as he talked about healing, and deliverance, and miracles. He said he was finishing up and she was suddenly upset. No, don’t stop she thought to herself. She didn’t want this feeling to end, she wanted to hear more about hope, about Jesus. He said to come to the altar if you needed healing or if you needed to repent.

She found herself so torn up inside and a sense of urgency came over her. She had to walk to the front of that church. But she was terrified. These people didn’t know her. She knew she couldn’t stop this gnawing in her stomach unless she went up front, and she had a feeling if she didn’t go, it would stay there all night. So she clenched her teeth, and gripped her chair, then she slowly made her way into the isle, which was already crowded with people. She went forward and found herself at the back of a crowd of people singing and clapping and crying. She didn’t know exactly what to do, so she just lifted her hands and closed her eyes. She felt the tears coming stronger this time. She felt something she had never felt so strongly, she felt hope. The tears were flowing down, she was almost bawling at this point. She found herself talking to Jesus in her heart and mind, telling Him she was sorry she had forgotten Him. She was sorry for hating the people who hurt her.

She heard the preacher say if you need Healing come to the front. She needed healing in her heart more than anyone she had ever known. So she starting pushing her way to the front. Weaving in between people getting closer and she stepped past a man and almost fell out into the front of the altar. She stopped as she saw someone else step ahead of her. She put her head down and waited. People gathered around and prayed for the family that was at the front. She thought, that’s it, I’ve blown it. The man asked if anyone else had come, so she stepped forward. He took a small bottle and put his finger on it and tipped it upside down. Then he put his hand on her head and started praying. Everyone around her started praying too. She felt more hands on her, and she felt such a sense of excitement, and of comfort at the same time. She started crying and she lifted her hands. Someone took her hand and said do you have the Holy Ghost. She didn’t even know what that meant. She shook her head no. The girl told her that The Lord wanted her to walk out of there with total freedom, but she had to believe, the lady said “Do you believe?” Rebecca shook her head yes, and she said, start praising Him. So she opened her mouth and start saying Jesus, thank you Jesus, She said I need you, She said Help me. She felt herself slipping away it seemed, everything around her seemed to disappear except this feeling inside of her. This feeling of pure peace and comfort and joy. She had the feeling of security she had longed for. She felt her mouth start moving and she couldn’t control it. She started speaking and it was something she had never said, nor ever heard. She didn’t know what she was saying, but she heard a beautiful language coming from her lips. She sobbed and could barely stand on her feet. She felt so light she thought she could fly. She started to come back to herself a little and heard people around her thanking the Lord and Crying and other people speaking in the languages she had herself just spoke in. The preacher said, Do you want to be baptized? She heard herself say yes before she even thought of it.

They took her to the back room and gave her some clothes to put on, and then took her up the steps to a pool of water. She stepped in and the preacher said do you believe in Jesus with all your heart? She said yes. He said “I baptize you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins” And then he laid her back into the water and brought her back up. She cried again, and she felt such a peace. People were shouting hallelujah and thank you Jesus. When she went back to get dressed in dry clothes, the woman helping her said, honey you are in the kingdom now. The kingdom Rebecca asked? Yes girl, you got saved. Saved, Rebecca repeated the word and then thought on it. That’s what she had needed, to be saved. It felt wonderful.

The lady asked where Rebecca lived and she said, well, no where yet. She related the story to the woman and explained that she had definitely found her home, now she just needed a place to live. The Church said they had a place she could stay in until she got herself a house. Rebecca’s life changed from that point on. She was never the same again. She was so thankful for her new home, and her new family, and her new found freedom.

She finally found her peace, and her security. She had found Jesus.