“I wasn’t ready to be on my own, I didn’t know how to be on my own. I moved out of the house when I was 17. That was the most broken that I’ve ever been. I was completely shunned from my family. My parents were totally against their daughter dating someone outside their race. My high school sweetheart was a black guy. I knew about God from my upbringing, but I didn’t have a relationship with God. During those years that I was estranged from my family I was hungry to find something, so I started to read my bible. I found Jesus. I realized that He did understand my plight because he too had been rejected. I related to Him. He understood my pain. I fell in love with Him. I gave my life to him. Six months ago, I was having a hard time. There were sins in my life that I was in bondage too. I was praying and asking God to please show me what it was that I was doing wrong. I felt Jesus come into my room and stand at the foot of the bed. I was in a hotel and outside was a pool. He got into the pool and motioned for me to come and I did. I realized He was going to baptize me. I thought it was strange because I had already been baptized. He put one hand on my chest and one hand on my back and dipped me back underneath the water. After a few seconds, I realized it was time for Him to lift me up and He didn’t. It scared me, I really didn’t understand what He was doing. I was fighting and flailing in the water because I wanted to get up. I looked up through the water and I could see Him and I felt the word die come over me. I knew what it meant, it meant that I needed to die to myself. I needed to die to my will. I needed to die to the parts of me that I wanted to hold onto to. At that moment, I understood. I needed to let go and completely surrender my life in every area and not just the areas that I had given to Him prior in my life. I stopped fighting. I just laid there and He brought me up. I completely surrender my life to God, I didn’t want control. My name is Sheri and I surrender.”
Matthew 10:39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
(Sherri, Manhattan, Kansas)