My Testimony for RCA | 03.27.09

My life before I became a Christian wasn’t a smooth-paved life. I confronted many twists and turns and rocky roads. I was an extreme sinner. I disobeyed my parents regularly. Thinking I could be independent and just listen to my friends. I hung out with friends that lead me into the wrong path. Listening to explicit music, wearing obscene clothing, and cursing. I went to church sparingly and I didn’t really follow what was going on. I was raised on a certain belief that if I’m good, if I treat everyone right and if I wear a cross necklace, I’ll go to heaven. Five years ago I realized that was not the case. I came to the point in my life where I needed to make a change. Because if I make small mistakes now, in the future they will become big and devastating mistakes that will lead to the worst outcome. One night in seventh grade I came home with my mother and there were a group of cars in front of us, all white cars. They all parked in front of a house and tons of guys in black came out of the cars and beat up a bystander. They used baseball bats, clubs, and metal rods. Within minutes they all ran back into their cars and drove out of my complex. The cops came shortly after, and the bystander’s parents came out from their house and saw their dead son on the ground. I was 12 when I came to the realization that, you know what, I’m not going to live forever. Within minutes a life can change completely. At that moment, I asked myself “Where am I going to go when I die?” “Is my life really a “good life”.” That night my mother (who is Christian) prayed with me. For the first time in my life I heard a calling and felt compelled to change my life around for the better. I accepted Jesus Christ into my life when I was 12. What that meant was that I was no longer in control of my life. Everything and anything I do and did from that moment on wouldn’t be just me, myself and I, but God and I. I got baptized days later and since then my life had become a complete 180. I’ve attended our church since 2002 and from 2004 to the present I’ve become greatly involved. I’ve stopped dwelling in the past and looked onto my new future. Just as it says in Psalm 40:2 “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” God turned my upside-down life right-side up! Despite the fact that I’m a sinner, and I still make mistakes, there’s only one person who can accept me for I am, that is Jesus Christ. There is more grace in God’s heart than sin in my past and in everyone’s past. Before, my mistakes had to be fixed by me. Now, every mistake I’ve made and might make I can overcome with help from God. I now have reassurance in knowing that when I leave this earth, I will be with God.

-Jasmine Grace Ahmed