Testimony of Conversion
I was born into a very religious Irish Roman Catholic home in County Tipperary in 1977. In 2001 I married the love of my life, Marie. I was religious and attended mass regularly. On the night of 15/06/2006, our second child was born, our son Adam. But there were complications, the doctor said there was nothing more he could do and that Adam would be rushed to a particular baby care unit. I drove there and was waiting outside as the ambulance arrived. I watched helplessly as they wheeled my baby son into the baby care unit and the doors shut behind him. I was not allowed in, so I just slumped into a chair and cried. Even though I had rosary beads in my pocket, I did not go for them. Instead, I did something I had never done before, I just spoke to God. I said, “God, I love my son, and I just want to get to know him, please save him, but your will be done, not mine.”
He answered… not in an audible voice, but deep within me, I heard, “You want me to save your son, but you don’t even know my name.”
I was stunned; what was God’s name? He must have a name! But I don’t know it! This means I’m asking a stranger to save my son, and I don’t know God.
After the initial shock wore off, a great peace came over me. My son recovered, and we brought him home to meet his big sister. For the next four years, if anyone had asked me what I was doing, I would have told them I was on a search for God. But looking back, the reality was I was lost in my religion. I became a devout Roman Catholic, never missing mass and bringing my children with me. I trained to be a deacon, I wanted to find the God who had been so good to me. I tried to read the Bible, but it didn’t make much sense. I tried reading other books, but I couldn’t find Him. The big church building seemed cold and empty; God was not there. Eventually, I turned my walk-in-wardrobe into a place for prayer, and one evening I closed the door, got on my knees, and began to cry. My prayer was, “God, I know your there, but I can’t find you. My life is now yours, do with it as you will, but just let me find you!”
The following day everything changed. As I woke, it sounded like I had never heard the birds before, but now they were singing a symphony. The sun shone brighter, and I felt lighter. There was a joy inside of me that I could not put into words. I picked up the Bible, and now that it was in my own language, the words came alive. I would get home from work and run to my room to read God’s Word. I searched the internet and eventually found advice that said I needed to find a “Christ-centered church” and that I would know it when I walked in and found a pulpit (not an altar) in the center.
Call to Ministry
God led me to a little Baptist church near where I worked that I didn’t even know existed. I told my family; they wanted me to go see the Priest. By the time I met him, I already knew I was a Christian and had been saved, and the things he said only reassured me even more. Now my purpose is to live a Christ-centered life, to be an example of Jesus for my children and wife. To know Him more and to make Him more known. Until that great day when he calls me home.